


Into the Red Forest

by TheTragicNoir



Series: Chronicles of Remnant: Team JAQK [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Courage, Drama, Fantastic Racism, Friendship, Gen, Nature, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-04-20 01:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14249655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTragicNoir/pseuds/TheTragicNoir
Summary: After the Fall of Beacon Academy, Velvet from Team CFVY got separated and lost into Forever Fall, far from civilization. That is until she met two wanderers, helping her on the way back while dealing with Grimm, The White Fang, and an unknown cult. This is one of many other stories in Remnant.





	1. The Grimm Road

**Author's Note:**

> Updates: Most OCs are going for a change of name to make it for the CNR (Color Naming Rule), but to be honest I don't like that rule so I will take a few liberties for most first names.  
> -Tommy Reck to Ace Clover  
> -Nick Torrent to Kingston Diamo  
> -Ryan to Quinn  
> -Jack doesn't change  
> _The name of the team also going to change  
> That should be all for now, I hope to make it work this story.  
> First (almost) Original Fic, RWBY is great but recent volumes felt...lacking if I could explain it better. This might be the first of a long series of events for this team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY Characters, places and terminologies with the exception of the Original Characters, belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions.

3 months passed since Beacon Academy was destroyed by hordes of Grimm by unknown causes. Some students survived the attack and succeed to escape from a tragic end while the rest fell victims from one of the most tragic events ever occurred in Remnant's history. Some teams were disbanded while others kept sticking together to help people. Without a clue of the former Beacon's headmaster, Professor Ozpin, the surviving students ended up doing huntsmen jobs like exterminating Grimm or helping defenseless settlements and villages.

Team CFVY was working together on the kingdom of Vale despite their odds. They were protecting a small town named Tint Hills which was inside of the Forever Fall region. Samsara, one of the most populated settlements was on the center of that region and the only place where is connected to other larger settlements through the use of the train owned by the Schnee Dust Company.

After two days of resupplying at Samsara, team CFVY was using the famous railway line to travel back to Tint Hills in the shortest amount of time while discussing the mysterious attacks occurred there for 2 weeks. Velvet Scarlatina, the bunny Faunus of the team, was sitting next to the window while admiring the bright colors of what Forever Fall is known for. Coco Andel, the fearless leader, was sitting right next to her while the other two male members: Fox Alistar and Yatsuhashi Daichi were sitting on the opposite side while guarding their supplies. Those two were always the Coco's mules to carry anything she buys, whether if it was her shopping bags or important equipment what they were in charge of.

"How long is gonna take us to the station? I skipped breakfast this morning." Fox said with lack of energy.

"30 minutes left until we meet our destination," Yatsuhashi replied to his starving comrade.

"Mhh, I can't take any longer. Does this train offer snacks or something?"

"No, but I have a bag of chips with me. Want some?" The big guy pulled out his potato chips bag to share with his teammate.

"I guess that would do." Without complaining, Fox took some chips from the bag, but it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy his hunger. "Ugh, I will need more than that."

"You can take the whole bag; I have more in my backpack." Yatsuhashi gave the potato chips to Fox. He didn't mind to give a whole pack to a friend in need.

"Now that you are done talking about snacks, we still need to discuss those mysterious attacks from that place." Coco was the first one to speak about their job.

"I have to agree, it is quite intriguing that there are no signs of Grimm assaulting the area." The tallest member commented on his thoughts on the matter.

"What makes you think the attacks weren't caused by Grimm?" The Faunus girl asked about her teammate's theory.

"No Grimm would be that smart enough to attack without causing any major damage and leaving without people noticing them. Those things are nothing but beasts." Fox remarked about those creature's intelligence.

"Yatsuhashi and Fox are right, it is impossible for those monsters to be the cause of the attacks. I can assume that either bandits or the White Fang would be responsible for all that mess." The leader was thinking about other possible causes.

"I doubt it was the White Fang because the reports about them inside the area were faint, also because there are Faunus people living in that town as well." The rust-colored member was reading on his notebook about the Intel he got.

"These kinds of tactics are different than the usual ones they pull off. I don't see the purpose of attacking a humble town without any political influence to hold on with, that doesn't make sense." Velvet was lost in thought for a moment.

"My money is on the bandits. Those guys love to cause trouble wherever they go." Fox spoke with confidence.

"With higher Grimm activities on the last couple of months, bandits refused to leave their nests in order to protect themselves. They only sent hunting groups for food or ammunition." Yatsuhashi commented while reading Fox's notebook about the info.

"So we are still going in circles, huh?" Velvet and everyone else on the team fell silent without any more clues or ideas about the real reason for the attacks. That wasn't an easy task despite they promised to Tint Hills inhabitants about solving this mystery.

"Mhhh I guess there's no reason to think about this for the moment. We will keep investigating once we arrived there." Coco looked out of the window to see how close they were to reach their destination. "We are almost there, everyone!"

"I hope none of you forgot to recharge your Scrolls because of the trip from the station to Tint Hills in an hour longer." Yatsuhashi did a reminder to the other members about always checking their devices for emergencies.

"I didn't forget mine, this time." Velvet sounded a little embarrassed.

"Oh come on! That was just once I forget to recharge it." Fox looked annoyed at that statement.

"And that one time we thought you died when we tried to communicate with you," Coco commented in her usual deadpan tone.

"It wasn't my fault I was stuck in a cave when an Ursa pack chased us during our first mission!" Fox tried to defend his point.

"Sure, it wasn't," Coco replied with the same tone.

Everyone carried their belongings while leaving the train. The road from the station to Tint Hills was about an hour or so of walking. Lucky for them, they bought a wagon to transport their supplies without much difficulty. The downside is using the male members to pull the wagon while the females walk or sometimes sit on there. They brought food, ammunition, Dust, equipment and replacement part for their weapons, and Coco's new clothes.

"Is necessary all those clothes, Coco?" Fox asked his leader while raising an eyebrow.

"Of course it is. If we don't know how long we are going to stay until we discover the cause of those attacks, minus well bring more clothes with me."

"I don't think you need THAT many."

"Keep saying that or you will be the only one carrying everything until we are at Tint Hills." Coco lowered her shades while staring at Fox with a menacing look. Fox didn't say a single word after that.

* * *

After walking around for 20 minutes, Velvet felt in the down mood for some unknown reason. She was lost on the thought while the wagon from behind. That sudden change of mood on her made her teammates worried because they never saw her friend in low spirits since they studied at Beacon Academy. As a leader that cares for everyone, Coco decided to walk aside her Faunus friend and see what's on her mind.

"It's something wrong, Velvy?" The leader asked with a serious expression.

"Oh, it's nothing." Her response was a little low in volume.

"Don't give me that type of response; something is bothering you, isn't it?"

"It's nothing really. You are worried too much." Despite her modest tone, she wasn't in the best mood.

"Oh no Missy, something is clearly wrong with you. Tell me what is, you know you can depend on me."

"That is the problem; I depend too much on you. I feel useless because I can't do many fights like you or anybody else." Velvet's tone rose in the more upset mood, but she wasn't mad.

"I know your Semblance is kinda limited, but you are really important for us, fighting or not."

"But I don't like it; I want to fight more alongside you guys. I can only unleash my full potential for a couple of minutes as long I have enough pictures to copy your fighting skills." Velvet felt more desperate the more she expressed her concerns. "What would happen if none of you can fight anymore or I ended up by myself? I need to show more of my own power for real and not just copying the style from someone else."

"Velvet…I know it must be tough not being able to be flashy like us, but you already know that is why we are always here for you. You are like our little sister that needs to be looking out for." Coco's upbeat tone made some sort of effect on Velvet's mood. "Tell you what; we can start teaching you more impressive moves until we arrive at Tint Hills. Sounds good for you?"

"Yes, thank you for listening to me complaining, partner." Velvet did a small smile, at least bigger than earlier.

"I don't want to ruin the mood but you better check this out," Fox called the female members to see something odd in front of them. Aside from the road was another wagon with broken boxes, everything looked destroyed with no one else around. Team CFVY drew their weapons as something on the road became dense.

"Keep your positions, everyone. Looks like the Grimm woke up earlier." Yatsuhashi was standing while holding his giant sword on guard.

"No kidding. Are those guys even needed sleep or something? Let's finish them right now. The sooner we are done, the earlier I can get something to eat." Fox took out his gauntlets with blades on each arm.

"I will treat you with something later, but for now…" As Coco kept talking while her purse transformed into a Gatling gun. "It's time for some morning exercises." She aimed with her weapon around the area while everyone stayed close to their wagon. They formed a circle while Velvet pulled out her 'weapon' while she stayed on the wagon.

There were Beowolves, Boarbatuskes, and Ursai packs surrounding them. They decided to draw them away from the road into the bright woods. Yastsuhashi started to charge towards some Ursa while doing big swings with his sword, cutting a lot of them in two with a single strike. Fox was agile about dodging and doing multiple slashes to some Boarbatuskes that were trying to do a spin attack. Coco shot larger bursts while Velvet was behind her leader, taking pictures from her teammates.

"There are a lot of them! This can be troublesome if more Grimm appear." The rust-looking huntsman yelled to the others while still fighting those creatures. "We need a plan and now!"

"Anything in mind, Coco?" Yatsuhashi was asking his leader while blocking attacks with his sword.

"I have one but I need Fox to go into the trees. Velvet, did you take enough pictures of Fox's fighting style?" Coco asked her Faunus partner while she stomped Beowulf's head, killing it instantly.

"Yeah, I have plenty why?" Velvet was curious about what Coco was planning to do.

"Fox!" The leader called to the agilest member while he was dodging attacks. "You and Velvet go to the trees and cut some branches! Yatsu! Get to the center and hit the ground on my mark!"

"Got it!"

"Understood!"

Everyone took their respective positions as Coco was still pushing the monsters towards the woods. Fox and Velvet started to jump and hope on different trees while attracting the Grimm's attention. Yatsuhashi tried to lure some away of the wagon from the ground. Just like Coco's plan, they needed to keep defending and take some Grimm away of the road and take down most of them as much as possible.

Once farther, they started to carry out the plan, the members on the trees on the trees began to cut some branches. Velvet used a projection of Fox's weapons and she started to do the same thing. Coco was shooting some trees while unleashing red sap out of them. As for Yatsuhashi, he kept defending and slashing some Grimm by himself, but he was reaching the limit of his Aura.

"Get ready, everyone…!" Coco raised he left hand while everyone was looking for their leader. "NOW!" As soon she calls it, the tallest teammate stroke his sword against the ground, creating a shock-wave that made all loose branches and leaves to fall towards the Grimm. Fox and Velvet run on circles at high speed creating a small tornado that made some leaves and red sap getting mixed and sticky to the monsters, making them unable to see or react.

The Grimm got completely covered with both red sap and leaves, Yatsuhashi delivered the final blow by sending most of them flying away to the closest cliff. Team CFVY was victorious once more.

"Phew, that was better than expected…" Fox commented while wiping off some of that red sap out of his tonfas.

"Yeah, good thing that cliff was close to us. One more step and maybe we could end up in trouble." Yatsuhashi was looking at the cliff, the height was big and there was a river down on the bottom of them.

"Well, looks like we are done. We should go back to our wagon and…"

"Wait for a second, Coco. Did you hear that?" Velvet stopped her teammate while she started to hear with her bunny ears. Something wasn't quite right for them.

"Oh come on! We forgot one?" Fox complained while he got on his stance.

"Yeah but I don't know from where…" Velvet was still trying to look around in front of them, but there was nothing else visible.

"I can hear it as well…where it could be…?" Yatsahashi was getting on guard with his sword on the front. The noises got bigger by each second but no one could see where the remaining Grimm was.

"Everyone, keep the eyes open. It's most likely a Borbatusk." Coco was still aiming with her Gatling gun to all direction.

"How you can be so sure?" Velvet asked her leader.

"I can recognize the sound of one when it's charging an attack. Better keep moving." Coco started to walk slowly while focusing on their surroundings.

The pressure of not knowing the enemy position was enough to make them anxious about. They were apart from each other so it was easy for the last Grimm to make a surprise attack on anyone on the team. The tension was rising to the point they were getting paranoiac. The charger got louder and louder, so many bushes were shaking.

"I thought the only one remained!" Velvet was taking cover right behind Yatsuhashi.

"It looks like he brought some friends to the party," Coco said it is really snarky tone, but without stopping looking at the woods.

The noises stopped briefly, team CFVY stopped breathing so they can hear where they are. They finally came out of the bushes and there were 4 fully charged Boartuskes.

"There you are!" Fox jumped over one while doing multiple cuts go on the air.

"Guard!" Yatsuhashi repelled two of them, cutting them in half with a counter attack.

"Too slow piggy…" Coco just stepped aside like nothing, falling to the cliff. All remaining Grimm was finally defeated.

"That was too easy if you ask me." Fox sounded pretty confident from the last encounter.

"Yeah it was, at least was a good exercise," Yatsuhashi said it is rather a playful tone.

"Can you hear more, Velvy?" Coco asked her partner, she got nothing unusual.

"No, I think that's all of them." Velvet was trying to sense more in the area, absolutely nothing else around.

They kept walking to get back to their wagon; Fox and Yatsuhashi were going ahead while Coco and Velvet were following them from behind. They were getting pretty separated from each other until Velvet stopped for a moment.

 _'Oh no…_ ' She was thinking, after hearing that noise again, one last Boarbatusk came out of the bushes; the trajectory was heading straight to Coco at full speed. Everyone got surprised and unable to react quickly. "Look out!" Velvet leaped towards her partner, pushing her aside and taking the impact instead.

"VELVEEEET!" Everyone yelled with horrified expressions, seeing the most valuable member got the worst of the Borbatusk's last stand.

Both the Grimm and Velvet went flying out of the cliff, landing on the strong stream of the river. It was impossible for the team to pinpoint where the member landed, whether she survived or not. She was completely lost out of everyone sight. Both sad and angered, Coco wanted to jump into the river, but she was stopped by her teammates.

"What are you doing!? Let me go!" She tried to shake them off, still with the desire to jump and save her partner.

"No! You can't do something so reckless like that!" Fox was trying to reason with her leader, she was almost out of control.

"She saved my life! I can't leave it like that!"

"No, this is not like you, Coco!" Yatsuhashi was holding his leader by the arms. "You can't risk your own life like that!"

"Don't you care about her!?" She was looking at both with a really menacing expression, her shades were falling.

"We DO care about Velvet, but we need to think this rationally." Fox's words made some sort of effect into Coco's attitude. "You are better than this, and you really know about it."

"Look, she didn't land on the ground like those Grimm down there. She is mostly safe in water or something." Yatsuhashi was trying to make some assuring words. "We should go back to Tint Hills first and then start looking for her, got it?"

"Mhhhhh…" Coco was out of words, for the first time that her teammates refused to follow orders from her. The tallest member released her so she could take deep breaths and clear her mind. After a couple of seconds, she recovered her usual cool and collected attitude. "Alright then, we should go back and think our next course of action. I don't want to accept that she just decided to risk herself to save me." She sighed. "I swear that we will find her, even to the end of the days." After hearing their confident leader, the guys nodded firmly in agreement and kept walking back to the wagon. Coco was still close to the cliff, looking at the surroundings of Forever Fall, worried about her partner. "I hope you are alright, Velvet. I will do everything to find you." She turned around and went back with the others, walking straight and determined.

* * *

It was already night, the cricket noises were engulfing the woods. Velvet started to regain consciousness, as she noticed that got a blanket all over her. There was a campfire close to her, and the young Faunus looked confused about how she came there in the first place. The more she looked around, there was a man sitting looking away of the fire, busy with something else.

Velvet began to move slowly in order to reach her backpack, trying to not make too many noises. It was odd of what that man wanted with her, he must be dangerous or something. She was extending her right hand close to her backpack until something caught her off guard.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you, Miss." The man spoke, his tone was softer, maybe younger. Velvet froze for a moment. He didn't turn his back while kept busy maintaining his weapon. Out of nowhere, he pulled out his pistol and shot close to Velvet's hands, making her jump backward away from the backpack.

"Whoa! Are you trying to kill me!?" Velvet asked the mysterious man.

"Mhh? Take a look, and you will know why." He still didn't turn his head to her.

Velvet got close to her backpack, noticing something odd over her belongings: There was a snake with a wound from the gunshot right through its throat, it was a clean shot.

"H-How!?" She was so amazed at how he was able to land a perfect shot without even looking at what was behind him.

"Nothing special, just these…" He was pointed to the side of his head; Velvet looked closely and saw he was wearing glasses with small mirrors on the sides. "One more sudden movement or you almost got bitten by it."

 _'That explains a lot'_ that was the only thing she got on her mind. She looked completely confused about how she was there in the first place. "What do you want from me?" She asked the stranger.

"Absolutely nothing, we found you unconscious on the river." He spoke without still looking at her.

"We!?" She looked surprised as she noticed that he wasn't completely alone. That is until they started to hear someone coming towards them, it was another man.

He looked pretty slim and tall, his skin was dark but not as much as Fox. He was smiling from ear to ear as he was walking towards the stranger and talked with an excited mood.

"Yo, partner! Look what I got!" He started to show a jar full of plants, the stranger didn't look pleased about it.

"Ace, how many times do I have to tell you?" His tone became even more serious, probably upset about it. "Those plants are poisonous, I asked you to bring the ones with blue leaves, not purple."

"How do I suppose to know that? I'm not good with nature as you, you know?"

"It doesn't matter, that is why I told you a specific color instead of names in the first place." The stranger started to examine the jar in detail, his mood changed pretty fast. "At least we can use it as anti-venom."

"So are we cool, partner?"

"Sure." The stranger's tone sounded dull.

As those men stopped talking, the cheerful one started to look at Velvet, getting pretty close to her. "Ah, so you are finally awake…" He sounded flirty towards her. "Sorry for the first impression, we don't get friendly people around this area that often…mostly ladies." He started to make a charming smile to the Faunus.

"Who are you guys?" Velvet asked them in a really confused manner, at least she was no longer afraid of them.

"Oooooh sorry, where are my manners?" The second man cleared his throat like he was about to do a speech. "My name is Ace Clover or just Ace for you, at your service." He bowed in a formal manner like he was on stage. "This guy behind me is my partner in the business, Kingston Diamo."

"Or just Kingston, either way, is fine by me." Kingston started to turn around and finally showing himself, he looked pretty young too. He was wearing a pair of glasses and carrying a sniper-rifle over his laps, doing some maintenance. "Sorry for the scare from earlier, but you should look carefully your surroundings next time," Kingston said it with a pretty cold tone.

"It is fine; I'm really impressed by your aim." Velvet felt more assured of those two strangers, never thought she would find someone as friendly as them on the wild. "And thanks for saving me."

"Nah it's not a problem, Miss... uh… what is your name?" Ace fell in silence as he couldn't address her properly.

"Velvet Scarlatina, nice to meet you." She stood up and presented herself in a more formal manner. "What are you doing camping in the middle of the woods?"

"We are just travelers, nothing else." Ace was the one speaking, as Kingston was in silence while still maintaining his weapon. "What about you? What happened before we found you on the river?"

"Oh… umm, I was traveling with my team, but we got ambushed by Grimm…" Velvet sounded a little embarrassed about what happened today.

"Team…? Oh, are you Huntsmen?" Ace sounded as excited as Velvet could see sparkles in his eyes. "That's so cool!"

"Huh? Aren't you Huntsmen too?"

"Nope… still, what kind of weapon is that what you were carrying with you?" Ace was examining Velvet's weapon while holding it with both hands. "It's that a camera?"

"Yes, that is my weapon…" She couldn't stop looking at Ace how fascinated was with her weapon.

"…But how is it work? I don't see a way to…"

"Ace, that's enough." Kingston interrupted Ace, with his usual stoic tone. "I should apologize to him; he gets so overly excited by a lot of things, even the most mundane ones."

"Oh, are you saying that making new friends is a bad thing, partner?" Ace used his sarcastic tone, but not in a rude way.

"No, but we should not ask too many questions on every girl you meet."

"Oh come on… why you have to be so moody about everything?" As he kept opening his mouth, Ace sat next to Velvet. "So, what are you gonna do now, honey-bunny?"

"Please, don't call me like that…" Velvet blushed as she never felt so welcomed by a stranger due to her race. "…I think I have to return with my team."

"Well, it's too dark to go all by yourself. I suggest you leave in the morning."

"I guess that's a good option, but where am I exactly?" Velvet started to look confused while she looked at the environment around her.

"What was the last place you were?" Ace asked her.

"Well, the most I can recall…we were traveling from a train station of Samsara to Tint Hills…" Velvet was trying to explain, it caught the attention of those two travelers.

"Tint Hills…? Ace, do you have the map with you?" Kingston asked in a nasty tone.

"Huh? Oh sure, take a look." Ace handed over the map; it was made of paper instead of using a Scroll. "Let me see…Samsara is there, right on the corner of Forever Fall. Where exactly is located Tint Hills, Velvet?" The cheerful traveler asked the Faunus.

"Around here…" She pointed out almost out of the border of the map; it was really far from where they were camping at the moment. They were on the opposite side of the area.

"Well…it is pretty far, that's for sure." Ace's expression became serious, as he didn't like the distance between them and any other settlement or city.

"Can you communicate with them, Miss Scarlatina?" Kingston asked Velvet, she just realized that she got her Scroll in her backpack.

As she was checking her backpack, she noticed that her Scroll stopped working, due to the water and rocks that broke the device, she got disappointed.

"Well, that sucks…" Ace commented.

"May any of you could lend me any Scroll of yours?"

"Sorry, but our Scrolls are out of battery. We were traveling for a while." Kingston commented.

"So how I'm supposed to get back with them?" Velvet started to get out of options.

"Mhhh…I know!" Ace stood up while looking excited. "We can escort you back to Samsara and maybe communicate with your team from there."

"What!?" Both Kingston and Velvet sounded shocked at hearing that.

"Huh? Is it that bad?"

"Yes it is Ace, we can't take her there, and we have more important matters." Kingston sounded serious, almost terrified. "Besides, Miss Scarlatina isn't fully agreed about…"

"Actually…" Velvet interrupted to the cold sniper. "I would like some help to get back."

"See!? She needs our help." Ace was gleeful that the Faunus considered the offer.

"Sorry, but I must refuse." Kingston stopped maintaining his gun while crossing his arms in disagreement. "Are you forgetting why we come here? We cannot get sidetracked but trivial matters."

"Oh come on partner! We cannot let a damsel in distress alone in the woods when there is Grimm roaming around."

Kingston didn't pay attention to what Ace said. "I'm so sorry, but we have business to do. You can sleep here at least only this night. We are going on our separate ways in the morning."

"I…I can understand it…" Velvet was really disappointed about it.

Ace was sitting with the crossing arms, trying to think a better solution as he doesn't like the idea of leaving someone in the wild and risking her own life. He was sure that convincing someone as strictly serious like Kingston could be hard bending some rules. Ace finally got an idea

"Hey, partner…" Ace made a devilish smile. "How good are we on ammo and food?"

"We…are pretty low in actuality." Kingston took his glasses to wipe the dirt out of it, thinking about their limited resources.

"How about this…?" Ace focused his sight at Velvet. "We will help you to reunite with your team if you can give us some supplies. What do you think? It is a win-win deal. Don't you think so too, partner?" He was doing some puppy eyes to his serious partner.

"I guess we can't do anything until we get more supplies and continue with our trip. Besides, we are low in lien anyways…." Kingston was lost in thought, calculating their possibilities of survival. It sounded like a risky move to help a bystander without a plan but hoping to at least get something in return. "Well, we can do some business with you, Miss Scarlatina. We are going to take you to Samsara, under the condition that you must be able to defend yourself. Quite simple considering that you are a Huntress."

"That is not a problem for me…" As long as Velvet can copy their skills, she is perfectly capable to fight back.

"Well that settles it, we should go to sleep and prepare for tomorrow," Kingston said as he put his weapon aside while taking his sleeping bag.

"Finally, no more boring days!" Ace was accommodating his sleeping bag while still being close to the campfire. "Don't worry Velvet, we are going to find your teammates, I promise."

"Thank you so much." After Velvet was done thanking them, she took some blanks and started to sleep. The sky was full of stars; she never thought that Forever Fall had such a beautiful night. _'I hope the others are alright.'_ She was thinking while looking at the sky. Velvet couldn't sleep for tomorrow's long journey, as she didn't know what waits for them on the road.

"Oh almost forgot…" Ace said while looking on one of the pockets from his coat, he threw an amulet to Velvet. "Take this, is a dream-catcher."

"Why you are giving me this?" Velvet asked in concern tone.

"I know how it feels to being away from friends; this should help you to sleep better at least."

"Thanks…Good night, Ace." She was able to finally close her eyes, feeling safe to sleep.


	2. The Long Road for Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY Characters, places and terminologies with the exception of the Original Characters, belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions.

5:30 on the morning, both wanderers woke up earlier while leaving Velvet to keep sleeping. _'She looks so cute when she sleeps.'_ That was the first thing Ace got in his mind. As he and Kingston were accommodating everything before taking their respective chores, they couldn't stop thinking about how they were no longer just themselves exploring the region.

"Ace, where did you leave my scopes?" Kingston asked while he was preparing for scouting the area.

"I think is in the bag, the blue one…" Ace replied while his partner searched for his scopes in the appointed bag.

"Are not there…"

"Oh sorry, …it was the green one now that I remember it." Ace slammed himself in the forehead.

"Got it…" Kingston was getting prepare for his normal routine: Got his glasses cleaned, pistol and rifle loaded, and some of his favorite seeds if he gets hungry during recon. Despite being ready as always, he felt something different than other times. "Hey, what do you think are they doing?"

"Not so sure, partner. We got rather slow in the last couple of days." Ace sighed as he looked worried as well. "After of what happened, is pretty hard to get enough info about it."

"In any case, I hope it was a good idea to let her accompany us in the meanwhile." As Kingston looked worried, his sight focused on Velvet.

"We will be fine, she said is a huntress. More power for us right?" Ace tried to light the mood, but it wasn't enough to calm Kingston.

"I don't want to involve more people in our problems; especially I don't want to deal with 'them' while she is with us." He looked rather serious, and his tone of voice didn't bring a sense of security for Ace.

"Right, 'them'… Whatever is happening, we just need to reunite Velvet with her team and get enough supplies for our mission."

"I hope you are taking this seriously, we cannot afford failure to the others."

"I'm TOTALLY serious. What would they say if they got in the same situation as us?" Ace sounded really serious, even more so than usual. That question made Kingston fell into total silence, unable to make a counter-argument. "…Exactly."

"Just don't get too distracted by her, understood?" Kingston said it firmly to Ace, he nodded back. Done with the talk, Kingston walked into the woods while Ace stayed at the camp.

He couldn't remember the last time he and his friends were doing some camping. He was enjoying it now that Velvet was doing some company, which means a great meal for guests. The frivolous young man took out a pot, some vegetables and his set of knives; those were for combat rather than cooking. _'Let see…potatoes, tomatoes…I'm out of onions. Would she like it with more carrots? Nah, that is a stupid question and rather offensive. Everything should be fine, it is a shame we don't have any meat for it.'_ Ace was thinking about doing a good stew or simple soup for everyone, as he was getting tired of using rock soup as Kingston doesn't eat much as him, or especially 'the big guy'.

He arranged everything, letting the pot boiled some water on the campfire while Ace launched the ingredients into the air. Wielding both knives on each hand, he started to slash and cut the vegetables into small slices. Those fell into the already-boiled pot, mixing together perfectly. While moving the spoons in circles, he tasted the soup. _'It needs more salt, where did I leave it?'_ He took some from one of his bags, sighing. _'I need to organize it more, what a pain.'_ After adding some condiments and his special family sauce, Ace surpassed his own expectations as in massive quotes to be called himself the next 'Iron Chef Remnant'.

* * *

6:45 on the morning, Velvet woke up as she smelled Ace's soup. She noticed that Kingston was already gone and only the optimistic man was doing the breakfast.

"Rise and shine!" His mood was upbeat as always. "You wake up just in time for the breakfast."

"Where is he?" Velvet asked him while moving the blankets aside.

"Who, my partner? He is doing some recon while I was cooking. Don't worry; he will be back in an hour."

"Aren't you worried if he doesn't come back?" Velvet sounded concern, knowing that being far apart could be dangerous.

"Nah, there is no chance anything could catch him off guard, or even get the upper hand before he or she gets shot by him." Ace was so carefree, yet confident of his partner's skills. "In the meanwhile, here is some of my special soup, be careful as it is still hot." He grabbed a bowl and poured some soup on it, giving the first portion to Velvet.

Velvet took the bowl carefully of not getting herself burned, doing small blows to cool it down. Once the soup was good enough, she started to sip it slowly. She really liked the flavor as it was almost like the one her grandma used to cook, with the only difference of not having too many carrots. "This is really good!"

"You like it huh? I only wished I could have better ingredients to make anything else than just soup." Ace said in a mildly prideful tone. "Hey, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead." Velvet replied as she looked curious because of her bunny ears emoted.

"What were you and your team doing here at Forever Fall?" Ace's tone sounded serious, almost cutting the smile.

"Oh that…We were investigating some attacks that been occurring at Tint Hills by weeks."

"Weeks? That's too much for Grimm to attack the same place."

"That is the thing, it wasn't caused by Grimm."

"Really? Then by what exactly?" Ace looked surprised as it wasn't of what he could expect.

"That is what we don't know yet, but the most we could assume is an intelligent being."

"Intelligent, huh? Could it be the White Fang?" Ace inclined himself as he the topic caught his interest.

"We discarded that possibility as the attacks don't follow the same pattern as the ones they usually do. Besides, they weren't any reports about them in the area."

"I see." Ace looked at a different direction, lost in thought. "Well, I hope you can get a clue along the way because it can be a lot of things."

"True" Velvet was looking at the sky, with so many doubts in her head. It would be difficult to find any clues all by herself. "Now that I answered your questions, it is my run."

"Shoot," He said it with a smile.

"Why you came here too?" Velvet question made Ace's mood became serious.

"Oh, that? Like I said last night, we are just travelers."

"I see." Velvet was disappointed by the answer. She and Ace kept eating the soup to almost not leaving enough for Kingston. "Hey, shouldn't leave so for him too?"

"Nope, apparently he doesn't like to eat anything cooked. He tends to eat mostly fruits, vegetables, and mixed seeds." Ace looked sad as he doesn't have enough people to enjoy his cooking.

"Well, I thinking you did a great soup." She made a really sincere smile.

 _'My…her smile is so pure.'_ Ace was thinking. "I appreciate the opinion. Let's finish the soup because we have long trip today." He was done eating, putting the bowls back to one of the bags.

They started to pack everything before Kingston could comeback. Ace told Velvet which things should go in the corresponding bag and backpack. As they were almost done the packing, Kingston finally returned from doing recon. He took out and put in the center of the campsite.

"Was any interesting things on the way, partner?" Ace asked his partner.

"We got a body of water miles away from us to the east. We have some Grimm on our way, the usual Beowolves which shouldn't be a problem for us." Kingston was pointing out on the map the route they had to take.

"Is there anything else?" Velvet asked as well.

"Nothing, in particular, I saw what appears a cave so we could camp there before the sun goes down." Kingston stored the map back to one of his pockets while eating some seeds. "Alright, let's move on!" Done with the plan, the group started to move on the next campsite before night. With Velvet and Ace on the front while Kingston followed them from behind.

* * *

The trip was long with rocks, cliffs and fallen trees blocking the path. They were agile enough to climb obstacles, but only to make some few steps back as sometimes they found nowhere to go and take another path to advance. 8 hours being passed and they stopped at the top of a hill to check the area below them. Kingston and Ace were in position, with Kingston aiming with his rifle with Ace looking around with his binoculars while they and Velvet were with the heads down.

Just like Kingston's info from earlier, the Grimm were roaming on the area. "Well, there are a lot of them…" Ace commented. "…But looks smaller than expect it. Should we go and kill some of them?"

"No, let's wait until they leave," Kingston replied as he didn't separate his sight from them.

They were still, not moving an inch from the hill for one hour. Ace got a little impatient about it. "Oh please, can we kill them? They didn't move and we are wasting time."

"…" Kingston didn't say a single word.

"Is there something wrong?" Velvet asked the sniper.

"…"

"Hello? Earth to Kingston, are you with us?" Ace tried to communicate with him, it didn't take too long before Kingston could say a word.

"Mhhh…you are right, they are not going to anywhere."

"See!? We should go and…" Before Ace could be done talking, he got interrupted by Kingston.

"But we cannot engage in combat, that would be a waste of energy, Ace."

"Man, always ruining the fun…" Ace was disappointed.

"Umm… guys, the Grimm are moving toward us…" Velvet pointed out to the creatures while the travelers focused their sight on them.

"This is not good, engage combat now!" Kingston took out a metal plate and put under his feet.

"Finally! Time for some fun!" Ace did the same thing with the metal plate. He gave another one to Velvet. "Watch this and follow our lead, this is something you are gonna like it." Ace went downhill, sliding with the metal plate like a snowboard.

"Keep the balance, maintain the calm and just do the same thing as us." Kingston launched himself into the hill too after done instructing Velvet about the metal plates; she was the last one to slide as well.

While sliding at full speed, Ace got prepared while pulling out a regular combat knife on his left hand while drawing his personal weapon, a hybrid of a handgun and a Bowie knife on his right hand. Kingston's sniper rifle started to change form, becoming a spear with a drill on the top while being on guard. Velvet was struggling with keeping her balance, but she adapted quickly as she saw the others being ready to fight against the Grimm.

A large rock was on the way of the hill, Ace moved to there and used as a ramp to impulse himself into the air. Kingston got the same idea and also leaped himself as he was pointing his spear to the ground. Both travelers were on the air, they started to fall down with their weapons ready for an air assault.

Kingston landed on one of the Beowolves, impaling on top of the head with his spear and killing it instantly. Ace landed on the back of another, stabbing with both blades and manipulating him to charge towards other Grimm like a rodeo. Velvet jumped too, but she stared into the trees while taking pictures of their fight. As their movement were pretty fast as Kingston was able to use both spear and pistol to kill some of them around him without getting close to him. Ace did acrobatic jumps as he dodged the attacks, both stabbing and shooting while going underneath most of them.

Velvet got some fight on the trees as some Beowolves climbed and tried to get her, she repelled with some stomps and kicks as the Faunus moved to different trees in order to maintain her distance. She couldn't get enough pictures to replicate their weapons, but at least memorize their patterns in fighting style. It made her curious about how powerful they looked for simple travelers.

"Partner! One is coming on your six o'clock!" Ace shouted to his partner while he was riding another Beowulf.

"Got it!" Kingston holstered his pistol while his spear reverted back into a sniper rifle. In a matter of seconds, while the target was charging towards him, he was already focused, aiming to its weak spot. Before it could have the chance to attack him, Kingston shot at it, completely annihilated in a blink and miss that Velvet remembered how he did the same with the snake from last night.

"Be careful!" Velvet saw another Grimm going after Ace; she jumped towards it and kicked out of the way. Ace noticed that leaped towards it, stabbing the Beowulf into the belly while it was against a tree.

Another one came and grabbed Ace against the ground while he was holding the Grimm from the neck, trying to avoid the bites. Ace put his weapon on its mouth, and proceed to shoot it, freeing himself while Velvet did another kick to disorient it and leaving to Kingston, snipe it and killing instantly. That was the last Grimm on the field.

Everyone took deep breaths, recovering some of the energy after a pretty exhausting battle. "That was impressive, how did you learn to fight like that?" Velvet asked them as she was curious about the way they fought.

"That is a great question, just something we learned to survive." Ace exclaimed, almost in a suspicious tone.

"I don't think simple travelers could just learn to fight like that unless you are either huntsmen or military." Velvet's statement made both of the travelers look at each other with a nervous look.

"I think you are mistaken, Miss Scarlatina. We are just travelers, but we learned to survive, nothing out of the ordinary." Kingston tried to explain in a serious tone, Velvet wasn't convinced enough.

"Hey, I'm not that dumb to notice the style of fighting you have. I can analyze the pattern of someone else and understand. You looked already trained and experience, tell me the truth: Who are you guys?" Velvet crossed her arms, as they could be even more dangerous.

"Well…we…"

"Help!" Ace got interrupted by a man that yelled from a close distance to them.

"Huh? Is someone in trouble?" Ace asked while they were trying to pinpoint the direction of the voice.

"I can hear him…He is over there!" Velvet used her ears to identify the voice. "You better explain me everything after we are done helping that man."

"Hey, do you think he could be…?" Ace asked his partner.

"Probably, let's be cautious." Kingston moved towards to where the yells came from, Ace and Velvet followed him.

They saw a man trapped with his leg under a trunk, being completely exposed.

"I should go and…"

"Sorry for this, but don't try to go there by yourself." Ace got on her way, not letting her go to help that man.

"Huh? Why?"

"Mhhh…" Ace looked pretty serious. "This is too dangerous, even for any huntsman. Hey partner, you and Velvet go to the trees and keep an eye on me. I will go and check by myself if anything bad happens." And like that, Ace went to see what is happening to the man in distress.

Velvet looked curious, as they didn't really trust that man. Could it be trap or else?

"Thank goodness someone came." The man replied.

"Sure…What happened here?" Ace asked he was standing right where Kingston can see both him and the man.

"Oh, there was Ursa that knock down the tree, trapping me under it and I tried to yell for help!"

"Oh really? And what happened to the Ursa?" Ace asked while raising an eyebrow.

"Well…." That man started to feel uneasy, getting too nervous. "Brothers!" An arrow came out flying out the bushes, as Ace dodged it by a couple of inches.

"Well, well, well… looks like I ruined the surprise party." Ace commented as he saw himself being surrounded by 6 people in white robes, aiming at him with crossbows.

"Oh no, he is in trouble…" Velvet whispered to Kingston, with a worried expression.

"Don't worry, I'm already covering him." The sniper changed his clip for different rounds while still not looking away from his partner.

"So, how are you guys doing? I didn't expect a surprise party for me." Ace was talking to those men in white robes while doing a mocking tone.

"Enough with your games and where is Four-Eyes right now, Faunus sympathizer!" The man leading the group yelled at Ace.

 _'Faunus sympathizer? Do they know I'm with them?'_ Velvet was thinking after hearing the way Ace was called.

"Who, my partner? We got separated after the last time we got that 'friendly' conversation with you. It is a shame how things turn out after that."

"We are not stupid; we know he is far from here, looking at us from a safe distance."

"Really perceptive of you, for a bunch of loonies that is." The ace expression became serious, tired of listening to them.

"We are serving to clean Remnant from those impure beings, and you call us crazy when you are supporting them for our destruction."

"Heh, at least the White Fang cares about their own kind, you guys hate both humans and Faunus equally."

"Well then, seems there not much to talk now." The man extended his right hand, giving the signal to his group. "Brothers…!" Everyone was still, Kingston was in a position to shoot the group. "Execute him!"

After the signal, Kingston shot to one before any of them could react. As the other got caught by surprise, they turned around to see where the gunshot came from. Ace used that opportunity to sneak on the tall grass and get them by surprise. Velvet decided to leave the tree and start assisting to fight some of those people. They noticed her and start focusing on the Faunus.

One member of the group used a Fire Dust arrow on his crossbow, shooting at Velvet. Ace jumped on the way and blocked the projectile; he didn't suffer any damage as his body was glowing with a red Aura. With that energy, he used his weapon to return the same kind of fire projectile to that member.

 _'What was that it was his Semblance?'_ Velvet was thinking as he saw the way he blocked the fire for her.

Kingston shot another round, this time it bounced between two targets, knocking them out. Their forces were decreasing as how easy to defeat them was for Velvet and those two travelers. The last one tried to run away, but Velvet leaped towards him and pushes back to the area. Ace held him around the neck with his weapon, completely immobilized. "Where do you think are you going?" Ace asked him as the man had the arms on the air.

"What do you want from me…?" The man wasn't being cooperative with them, already feeling fear.

"Just like the last time, we tried to ask you. Do you know this man?" Kingston showed a picture of a bald man and a thick beard.

"My lips are sealed…"

"No response, eh? Velvet, could you cover your eyes? I don't want you to see what we are going to do with this guy." Ace was smiling, much to the hostage's sense of dread.

"Sure thing." Velvet just did what Ace told her to do; she covered her eyes with her bunny ears. Ace proceed to change the elemental function of his weapon from fire to electricity, the blades got sparks around it.

"Please, you are not going to do that, do you?" The man was feeling panic, shaky.

"For the last time, do you know where this guy is?" Kingston yelled at the hostage, he was sweating due to how he felt too much pressure.

"I can't tell where Master Copper is!" Everyone fell in silence after what the hostage said. Kingston and Ace looked at each other.

"So…Master Copper eh? He sounds like he is in charge of all of you." Ace replied, pretty much looked satisfied with the response.

"W-What do you want with him?" The hostage was almost out of breath.

"None of your business, but you gave us all that we needed. Ace, if you please…" Kingston nodded at Ace; he made a small contact with the blunt side of his electrocuted knives on the hostage's neck, knocking him down. "Well, it looks like we got a clue after so much time wasted."

"One step at the time, don't you think? We should go to the camping site and rest." Ace suggested as the travelers kept walking, leaving those people on their own luck. Velvet had so many questions after witnessing how they managed to deal with the situation, nothing made sense to her.

"Hey, do you mind to finally explain what is happening?" Velvet tone sounded serious than her usual demeanor.

"No need Miss Scarlatina, this is something that shouldn't involve…"

"No, I'm not going to follow you until you tell me who you guys are." Velvet's eyes were angry, something that made Ace uneasy, knowing that an angry lady is the worst thing to deal with. Ace looked at Kingston as they weren't sure if to accept her demand or not, they nodded at each other in agreement.

"Alright, we will tell you most of it until we get to the campsite. Don't expect much answers as this is a really delicate matter." Ace's tone was serious, really important that Velvet couldn't doubt anymore.

They kept walking until they finally reached the cave; nobody talked or commented about of what happened on the day during the rest of the trip. Ace lit the campfire with his weapon while Kingston arranged some leaves to cover the cave and blend with the environment. As they were done while Velvet was sitting away from them, Ace took some folder out of his bag with pictures and documents. "So, where do we start explaining?" Ace asked Velvet.

"From the beginning, if it is possible." Velvet replied while crossing her arms.

"Alright, better pay attention because this is a harsh story for us." While letting the winds blow inside the cave and make the fire grow, Ace got a sad expression, hard to hide it for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, team RWBY came to my town and finally meet them in person. I regret of not being able to get the whole team an autograph, just one from Barbara Dunkelman (Yang Xiao Long) for my RWBY T-shirt. Closer to the stars I guess.


	3. A Harsh Road to Follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY Characters, places and terminologies with the exception of the Original Characters, belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions.

_Have you heard of team JAQK? If you didn't we won't blame you, we were the bad apple from Atlas Academy. For a highly advanced school to teach military and special tactics, sometimes they can hold a lot of grudges to almost anyone. Despite our record of accomplishing missions and being outstanding, there was one thing that still made us infamous around Atlas, and it was our leader, my bro Jack._

_Even if he didn't want to attract attention in general, he became the perfect target for an unknown group to be the scapegoat on an incident that caused a lot of people to die during the Vytal Festival on Vale. When the Grimm took over Beacon Academy, we got our own problems with my bro, who was blamed for the death of 50 people from a rescue vehicle. That is a lie as we were with him during the attack, not even my old man, a high ranking officer from Atlas Military, couldn't be able to clear the misunderstood and he became a wanted criminal._

_So why are we doing all this? To help him out of course, just like he always supported us. I, my partner, and our fourth member Quinn have the task to investigate the real culprits of the incident. The Grimm destroying Beacon was just bad luck for us as we had to retreat and plan everything. Luckily, some of those people left archives while they were trying to survive the Grimm attack._

_The first thing we learned was about this man in the picture. According to Quinn, he was a scientist that worked for Merlot Industries, on the Atlas Division Group. The problem was the report said he died at Forever Fall, but never got concrete evidence if it was true or not. It looks like we skipped the trouble to confirm his existence; "Master Copper" is alive in this very area._

* * *

Ace was done narrating; Velvet was out of words of how much there are risking their own lives to help their leader. Kingston didn't bother to correct or say something else. The ambient felt heavy, almost too cold despite how close they were to the campfire while being inside the cave. Ace couldn't smile after talking, not jokes, nothing to lighten the mood.

"So, you chose to become deserters just to clean Jack's name?" Velvet broke the silence with that question.

"Even he didn't want us to get involve into this, but we refused to listen to him, not as a leader but as a friend in need," Kingston replied while cleaning his glasses.

"Jack dealt a lot in his life; this was way too much for him. While a lot of people turned their backs at him, we won't ever do that." Ace spoke proudly and clear.

"So why they are not here with you?" Velvet wondered how they are not present to help Ace and Kingston.

"Well… Jack decided to hide at his girlfriend's home at Mistral; I bet they are not there yet. Quinn returned to Atlas…"

"A stupid move by the way..." Kingston interrupted Ace.

"It really was, but he came back to Atlas in order to find more clues as we can't confront the real culprits without enough evidence. The only thing I hope is he doesn't get caught by General Ironwood or any other Atlassian robots. Too bad he never said goodbye to K's sister…" Ace snorted with a smile.

"Could you stop mention Dana and Quinn together in the same sentence every time?" Kingston got angry about Ace's comment.

"Oh come on, you know how much they have more in common like not getting along with you, K." Kingston decided to turn his back and start maintaining his weapon in order to ignore Ace. "Good thing Quinn is not here to listen this or he would start saying 'Goddammit Ace' and all while getting angry at me."

* * *

Meanwhile, on the cold streets of the Kingdom of Atlas, a man with a muscular complex was sitting on an alleyway. He felt a small chill on his body, but he wasn't sick though. "*Sneeze* Grrr…stupid Atlas and its damn weather." He said it with a really annoyed attitude, almost angry at everything around him.

* * *

Back to Forever Fall in the Kingdom of Vale, Velvet was really curious about the other two members of the team. The kind of bonds they have with each other despite their antics and things that they hate each other. Ace looked at Velvet, fueling the concern of how that group they encountered earlier will cause more trouble to them. "Hey, back with those people who called you a Faunus sympathizer, who are they?" Velvet asked.

"Them? They are the Purifiers." Ace replied with a tone that he clearly didn't like them.

"Purifiers…?"

"Imagine the White Fang with humans instead and multiplied by eleven." Ace gave an odd expression to Velvet, she already got the idea. "Exactly."

"Then how did you meet them?"

"Well, …let's just say we got to the 'wrong place at the wrong time' sort of situation." Ace looked embarrassed for a moment, but he turned it into his serious expression. "Whatever the case, they are not someone to mess with when it comes to numbers. Don't get fooled by their primitive appearances, they are more dangerous than your usual bandits."

"Then I will have to go back to Samsara by myself. I don't want to cause you any more trouble if they hate me for being Faunus." Velvet was sad of how much struggle could cause with her presence, mostly when they have something more important than just escorting her to civilization.

"Silly rabbit, you don't have to do that."

"Huh!?" Velvet reacted in shock after hearing Ace.

"You are not gonna cause us trouble, because you are in more danger than us. At least we can protect you until we reunite you with your team."

"Oh…right…" Velvet really felt safe, knowing that even they bother to help some despite their priorities.

"Besides, we made a deal, isn't it?" Ace's smile pretty much-convinced Velvet of not being worry about those two. "Welp, I'll do some recon right now. Get comfy here, Velvet." Ace grabbed his weapon and left the cave for his shift.

It's been a long day and things escalated pretty quickly Velvet, they are could have the chance of not doing nothing and save themselves. True friends just like her and team CFVY. Kingston picked up a teapot and started to pour some water on it while staying over the fire. Velvet noticed that he used some herbs on a small cage while inside of the teapot.

"Hey, Kingston?" Velvet asked while looking at the herbs. "What are those?"

"Mhh? Just some leaves of dandelions, mint, and clovers."

"And what are for?"

"A special tea, it helps with the concentration," Kingston commented while mixing the herbs inside the teapot. He used a spoon to sate the tea, he made a small smile.

"You know, something caught my attention about you the first time I met you."

"And what is it, Miss Scarlatina?" Kingston raised one eyebrow about Velvet's curiosity.

"You look like someone who knows a lot about nature. How did you learn all that?"

"You are doing too many questions, are you?"

"Sorry, just I couldn't help it." Velvet covered her eyes out of embarrassment. "I don't want to bother you if it is none of my business."

"It's alright, I wouldn't mind sharing some of my experience to someone else." Kingston was done making the tea, as he poured on two cups for him and Velvet. "Where do I start explaining? The most I can tell is I was born at Shady Sands, a settlement close to Vacuo, pretty harsh place though. My family and I had to learn how to survive, a desert wasn't the best when it comes to plants but at least we were able to get some hunting."

"Then how can you tell the different classes of plants if they were so rare at Vacuo?"

"I learned when we moved to Mistral, we didn't get any better in style of life but can't complain since it was an improvement for us."

"I see…that explains how good you are with the rifle if you learned how to hunt for so long."

"Actually, I'm just good with the rifle due to my Semblance," Kingston affirmed while taking another sip of his cup of tea.

"Now you mention it, I saw Ace's earlier when we fought the Purifiers, but I never saw yours." Velvet just realized what kind of power could have for people trained at the military.

"Ace's Semblance is Adaptation: He can nullify any elemental attack to him, and transfer that energy to his weapon. The drawback for him is he is vulnerable to opposite elements, like fire against ice and vice versa. Mine is Focus, the most I could explain is everything becomes slow when I get concentrated on my aiming. You can say it suits me but I never knew about it until I attended at Atlas Academy." Kingston showed his rifle to Velvet, noticing it is pretty old with scratches, some dirt, and a label with the title 'Predator's Eye' on it. "As you can see, this rifle belonged once to my uncle a long time ago; he once said to me it is the only friend I could need it to survive in this harsh world. Well, meeting Jack and the other two of team JAQK helped me to understand more about getting along with others, either as soldiers or friends."

In a way, Velvet understood the same feeling of isolation as him. She remembered her first year at Beacon before the initiation of forming teams; she was pretty much alone without her family to support her far from home. Despite Beacon has no issues about Faunus, there were people that didn't like her. Coco was the first one to be friendly towards Velvet on the first day at Beacon. The thought made Velvet to crack a smile and laugh, Kingston noticed her for the odd behavior.

"What is so funny?"

"Sorry, I just remembered something funny when you mentioned about your friends. It was when I attended Beacon Academy on the first day, and I was all by myself away from home and family."

"And?"

"Well, my partner Coco was the first one I talked with, and the first thing she said to me was 'nice scarf,' and I wasn't able to respond properly of how nervous I was that day."

"It sounds something that Ace would say to start a conversation." Kingston smiled a bit; he found it funny as well.

"I know right? I mean, my scarf on that day was a gift from my grandma before leaving home, and it wasn't made by any fashion brand." Velvet couldn't stop smiling at the sweet memories; it felt like yesterday for her. "I hope to see them again soon…"

"Now I have a question for you, what about the rest of your teammates?" It caught Kingston's attention when she started talking about her friends.

"Well, …not much to tell about them, as Yatsuhashi treats me like her little sister. I wouldn't mind it as I'm pretty much the youngest sibling in my family. Fox is the same on a lesser degree, as he actually likes to compete with me."

"I see…" Kingston started to recall his friend's behaviors. "Well, looks like you are much better than us."

"Why you say that? I saw you and Ace getting along pretty well."

"Yeah, but for me and Quinn…? Not by much…"

"How?" Velvet's ears emoted with curiosity, as left ear was downed while the right one was standing up.

"We just can't get along much as he really likes to challenge authority, a really destructive behavior for his own good. I learned to never disobey orders if I wanted to survive, he, on the other hand, doesn't like to respect any person."

"That must be really hard for you as a team."

"Not really, even he hates authority and order; he will only listen to our leader. A really odd idea considering everything I stated before."

"Is that so, huh…?" Velvet didn't expect a person like him being so tamed, almost like a dog. "Speaking of Quinn, what was all that when Ace mentioned about him and your sister…?"

"Stop!" Kingston interrupted Velvet, on an annoyed attitude. "I prohibit you from talk about it, ever again."

"O-Ok then…" Kingston getting angry was really rare to see for Velvet, mostly because of his usual calm attitude. "Do you usually do this?"

"Doing what?"

"You and Ace taking turns on exploring the woods alone…"

"It helps us to sleep at night, knowing there is nothing to ambush us." He served himself more tea; it cooled it down due to the long talk. "It is impossible for any person being able to discover him as he specializes on infiltration."

 _'A sniper and an infiltrator, it is a terrifying combination for those two. I wonder what kind people are the other two members.'_ Velvet was thinking as she took that in the account for how good they are. As for the night was young, she decided to check her weapon of how good it is with the pictures of their fighting styles. So far she only got 4 good pictures of Kingston as he didn't do much movement to obscure his fight, Ace only got 2 as he was too fast to focus the image, is difficult to capture him or his weapons.

"You should sleep earlier; we are going to leave in the morning as soon we wake up," Kingston commented to Velvet while she was yawning.

"Okay…" She grabbed the same blankets from last night; Kingston stopped her from using those.

"I suggest you use this, is better to sleep well." Kingston offered his sleeping bag, as he doesn't sleep much while he doing vigilance at night.

"Thank you." Velvet smiled as she accommodated everything to sleep. "Goodnight, Kingston."

"Get some rest, Miss Scarlatina." He started to get in position to see around the area from the cave, he saw some smoke coming from a far distance. He couldn't tell how far exactly but at least good enough of not finding unwanted visits. _'At this rate, we are going to be in trouble if we don't get that man soon.'_ He was thinking, pretty much worried about their situation. He pulled out an old pocket watch, looking at the hour of how long Ace was already out. He started to saw some lights among the trees; he aimed carefully to identify the possible threat.

"- -.-(0K)" The lights started to blink from the distance.

".-. - -…(RTB)" Kingston replied with his flashlight, the light stopped blinking and just keep watching around if anything else happens in the meanwhile.

* * *

It was the 4:30 pm, the group already left the cave 7 hours ago. They continued on with the route as there weren't any Grimm or Pacifiers appearing on the way. Ace was yawning, almost in boredom. The route was much better than the one from the previous day, with the occasional rock or cliff that interrupted their trip.

They decided to make a short break to eat and get some rest, as they still have much time before the sunset.

"Ugh, my back hurts…" Ace commented while he stretched his limbs.

"Are you alright, Ace?" Velvet asked.

"I think I slept on top of a pebble or something." He rubbed his back, almost looking like a zombie due to his posture.

"Better check this out, Ace," Kingston called him out while aiming at the area with his rifle. Ace went to his position and started looking with his binoculars, Velvet was aside of him.

"Oh, fuzznuggets…" Ace did a concerned expression.

"What is happening?" Velvet asked Ace about it, he handed over the binoculars so Velvet could see it by herself. Once focused her sight, she noticed that wasn't a good time for them. It was a White Fang flag.

"Yep, those guys are taking their sweet time camping." Ace commented as he took back his binoculars from Velvet. As he was checking the members, something felt wrong about them. "This is odd; looks like their numbers are pretty lower than usual."

"What makes you say that?" Velvet replied.

"Ace is right; something is bothering me about it as well. Their groups tend to be bigger than that." Kingston noted as his sight is going all over the camp. Velvet didn't get it at first until she got the idea that their groups are usually around more than 20 people. Only 7 were showing around the camp. "We should move on and avoid any unnecessary conflict…" In a matter of seconds, they heard a gunshot on the camp.

The camp was being attacked by the Purifiers, as they were shooting arrows from all directions. The White Fang members were fighting back, but their forces were weaker as being cornered one by one. It became total chaos as the group looked from a safe distance, but worried that the Purifiers will catch them and be in much trouble as they were around 25 people raiding the camp. No one thought the White Fang could suffer so much loss on a single strike. The Purifiers were done destroying the camp and started to look for any survivors. Some of them took prisoners and carried by collars and chains, leaving the camp with a march.

Seeing such horrible acts made Ace's weapon to glow red and heated. He did an angry grind and his eyes were really showing a terrifying expression that Velvet, not even Kingston could ever expect to see him in that state. "We need to do something, now." Ace's voice was in a different mood, almost it wasn't him.

"Are you serious!?" Despite she didn't like them either, it was weird to her helping what many people consider them terrorists.

"I absolutely, 100% positively serious." Ace replied in a calm, yet angry tone.

"I don't think Kingston would be agreed with that."

"Miss Scarlatina is right; we can just follow them and find their hideout. We cannot risk this chance if want to accomplish our mission." Kingston interjected as he looked confident with his answer.

"I mean, I don't like the idea of letting them causing trouble to them, but this is way too dangerous for us." Velvet was agreed with Kingston, despite Ace's choice.

"Even if the White Fang is trouble for everyone in Remnant, we are not letting Purifiers to terrorize anyone, White Fang or not." Ace was determined to intervene and fight the Purifiers.

"We cannot do such reckless choice, Ace." Kingston took off his glasses and look at Ace directly to the eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ace." Velvet apologized to him, as she knew very well that it wasn't possible to help anyone.

"Follow them if you want, I will fight the ones that are still in the camp." Ace sighed while pulling out his metal plate and advancing towards the camp. Velvet tried to stop him, but he went ahead by himself. He hid in the bushes looking for some of the Purifiers, they weren't aware of Ace's presence. He started to advance steadily, dragging them to the bushes and knocked them out with his weapon. Only 3 Purifiers where around roaming the camp, but wasn't a much of a problem for Ace. He started to look around the tents, completely empty on each one of them.

Ace heard noises coming inside of another tent, there were a lot of boxes and crates with weapons and supplies. Everything was a mess, as the crates were scattered all over the tent. He heard the noises again, as something was under the mess. Ace moved the stuff aside, there was an arm moving. He dragged what appeared to be a White Fang survivor; he had horns from a rhino. He was injured from the arms and chest, Ace tried to put him in a good position to treat the wounds.

"Don't touch me, human." The White Fang member spoke in a rather weak tone of voice, Ace ignored him. "Hey, are you listening? I said don't you dare to…"

"I heard you already, I'm not stupid. Stay still and don't move until I'm done." Ace kept helping him, using medicine that he got in his backpack to clean and heal wounds.

"Are you just treating me so you can drag me like the rest that invaded my people?"

"As if, I'm not with them if is what are you saying." Ace was done helping the survivor, leaving him hiding behind the piles of crates.

"Why? Why helping me if we hate your race?" The survivor was astonished at how a human helped a White Fang member.

"Does it matter if you hate me? I know someone who got worse though." Ace just left him safe; the Faunus was out of words of his actions.

Velvet was waiting for him outside of the tent; Ace wasn't really expecting her to follow him. "What a surprise, I thought you would following them with K."

"I wanted to make sure you are fine if there weren't any more Pacifiers around." Velvet's concern sounded sincere, much to Ace's delight.

"Well no worry for me, you know I can handle most things with no issue."

"Good to hear, because there is Grimm coming this way…"

"Huh…?" Ace reacted confused to Velvet's serious response, as he saw a pack of Ursai coming towards them. "I already had the feeling that some would come here after what happened in this place." Both Ace and Velvet got their weapons ready to defend themselves. "I hope my partner doesn't have a problem leaving me here to chase those guys without you."

"Don't underestimate me, Ace. I can cover you for him pretty well." Velvet's weapon was glowing from the lenses.

"Good… because I would need someone to watch my back from a safe distance." Ace's weapon started glowing yellow with sparks around the blade while holding smaller knives on his left hand between his fingers. The Ursai arrived and charged against the group, Velvet jumped from a higher altitude. Her weapon formed a copy of Kingston's spear, a projection made out of solid light. She was falling towards the first one coming to them, stabbing it on the back while drilling it further.

Ace dodged the attack from the second one while throwing the small knives on its eyes to blind him. It didn't stop the Ursa to keep fighting, as it swung his claws to him. He kept dodging the swings while looking for an opening, but couldn't get any closer as the Grimm size made him unable to counter-attack without receiving any damage. Ace slashed to the left claw, but it wasn't affected by the electricity. He changed the element type from electricity to ice, hoping to slow it down. Ace counter attacked once more, Ursa's right claw froze and became fragile to swing anymore. The faster he could, Ace made another strike on the frozen claw and shattered into pieces.

Velvet was dealing with more as she tried to take advantage of the short duration of her Semblance. She tried to pierce Ursai heads with the spear and changing to the sniper rifle, despite not dealing much damage to them. Velvet jumped out of their way while switching weapons with Ace's, as she slashed while running on their way. She was swinging while shooting small burst into the Grimm's eyes and torso. She did a dodge roll when another Ursa charged towards her from behind, things became complicated for her as she has to deal with two at the same time. Ace was still busy with more on his side of the battle.

"This is not good, those Grimm are really resilient." Ace commented to Velvet as he was right behind her back.

"I know, and I don't think I can keep going fighting with my weapon." Velvet checked the pictures of Ace's and Kingston's weapons, she only got 2 left from each one.

"That is a neat weapon, Velvet. There's still anything left?" Ace asked Velvet without separating his sight of the Grimm.

"Yeah, but not enough to kill one."

"It is fine, I have a plan. Use my weapon first and I will tell you when to switch." Ace took out more small knives out of his jacket with his left hand, holding them firmly and ready to throw them. "Alright, try to circle them together on the center. You will know my signal of when to switch it." Velvet nodded at him when he was done doing the instructions.

They were all ready to kill those two Grimm. Velvet and Ace rushed to the opposite direction to deal with different Ursa, as they took the offensive to make them step backward. Their speed was enough to evade and slash horizontally while the Ursa couldn't hold their positions. It was a matter of time when they made the Grimm surrounded by them, cornered against each other's backs. Once the Grimm got surrounded by them, Ace made the signal to Velvet of pointing two fingers on the palm of his hand. Velvet got the idea and switched her weapon into a spear. Ace shot to Ursa's torsos with ice rounds, while Velvet pierced them on the same spot, sticking them together and unable to escape. Ace leaped towards them with his blade with fire mode and slashed both Grimm's head at the same time. Those Grimm were killed, with their bodies disappearing into the air.

"That was awesome, what was all that fighting!?" Ace got excited after seeing Velvet's real strength.

"Oh, are you referring my Semblance? It is Mimicry, I can analyze and copy other people fighting styles, and my weapon can recreate them with the pictures for a short time."

"That's so cool; I hoped you took my best angle…" Before Ace could say anything, he saw right behind of Velvet something moving through the bushes. An arrow flew right towards her. "Look out!" Ace moved her out of the way, getting hit by the arrow on his left shoulder.

"Ace!" Velvet gasped in horror, seeing how he saved her life.

He returned fire with an ice projectile; it was against another Purifier that didn't get knocked out at all after Ace ambushed him. The ice projectile landed on his head, freezing him on the act. The arrow on the shoulder looked bad, as pretty much took by surprise for Velvet as she wasn't able to hear the attack. The worst part was the arrow penetrating Ace's Aura, which was weird as it didn't protect him at all. "This isn't good for me, huh?" Ace said it in really jokingly tone, but he was worried though.

"I need to take you with Kingston, right now!" Velvet started to panic, as she tried to remove the arrow from Ace's shoulder.

"Hey, stop right there!" Someone yelled from a distance, it was Kingston running towards Velvet.

"Thank goodness you came; we need to remove this arrow out of his shoulder."

"Sorry, we can't do that…" Kingston's comment made Velvet confused about why not removing it. "This arrow, it got poison on it." That shocked both Velvet and Ace, much to Kingston's lament.


	4. Bless the Broken Road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: RWBY Characters, places and terminologies with the exception of the Original Characters, belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions.

"Y-You are joking, r-right, partner?" Ace was feeling a little of panic, having some difficult to maintain his upbeat tone. Velvet and Kingston were carrying him to the nearest tent from the White Fang camp. "I'm not feeling well…" He started to feel dizzy while being in denial.

"How can you be so sure about it?" Velvet asked Kingston, worried about Ace's health.

"One almost hit me, but it landed on a tree instead." Kingston showed the arrow to them. "It unleashes fumes around it. No matter what, be careful to do not remove the arrow or the poison will react faster due to the oxygen." Kingston put Ace in the same tent where the White Fang survivor was, he was unpleased to see another human around.

"Oh great…another human coming to pay a visit…what the hell happened to him?" The Faunus noticed Ace's state, as for how he became sick from a moment to the next.

"No time to explain. I need to heal him as soon as possible." Kingston was trying to act quickly while keeping his calm demeanor. Despite appearances, Velvet could feel his real emotional state as she was hearing his heart-beats going on a faster rate than usual. He was under pressure. They lifted Ace on a bunk, laying him while Kingston started to search something on his backpack.

"Come on, come on, where is that jar…?" Kingston was throwing stuff aside, looking for the purple herbs jar. "I got it…dammit, I don't have the antibiotics." He turned his head to the rhino Faunus. "You…! Where the antibiotics are?"

"Like hell, I would tell you." He refused to answer Kingston.

"My partner is dying! I don't have time for this." Kingston started to lift and throw everything in a furious manner; Velvet was astonished to see him losing his composure. He was searching every inch around the tent to find the antibiotics.

Velvet was looking as well, as she saw the First-aid kit on the floor. She opened to see if it got everything that Kingston needed. The bunny Faunus only got used syringes and dirty bandages. It grossed her out.

"Hey Ace, I need you to keep talking to make sure you are still with us," Kingston yelled on the other side of the tent while still looking for the antibiotics.

"That sounds like the easiest job for me." Even in the brink of death, he is still on his humorous tone. "Is it normal for me to see everything blurry?"

"We are running out of time, tell me where the antibiotics are!" Kingston's patience was running low; he was getting angrier to the White Fang survivor for not being cooperative.

"Make my day; I don't care about you or your friend." Kingston was getting upset that pulled out his pistol and aimed at the rhino Faunus. "Typical of you, all humans resort to violence as always."

"Enough!" Velvet got in the middle of them.

"Now what, are you getting on his side? You are being a dishonor for your own kind." He replied to his fellow Faunus.

"I don't care about it; you are being ungrateful of what he did for you!" She recalled about what Ace did to him moments ago. "He tried to save your life and this is how you repay him? Letting him die?"

"What the…? Did you say that!?"

"I did, he and his partner saved me too. We just need to know where the antibiotics are, please. Did the White Fang never teach you to care for each other?" Velvet's words really left the White Fang survivor unable to counter-argue about it. He was struggling with doing what he believes and what is honorable to do.

"On the desk on your left, second drawer." He replied.

"Thank you." Velvet said it politely while Nick acted fast on getting them. He found them and started to mix them with the purple herbs. It was a race against time as he needed to do some fermentation first put them on Ace's wound. He grabbed so breakers and water but couldn't get any source of heat to work on the antidote.

"Ace, I need your weapon for some fire," Kingston asked him while Ace grabbed it and changing its elemental property. Once already in fire mode, Kingston put the mix on Ace's weapon while he was holding it from the grip with both hands. Velvet held Ace's arms to keep them steady and not letting shake too much. Already on point, Kingston needed the mix to freeze it immediately. "Ace, cool it down now!" His weapon changed to ice properties.

The antidote was almost done but needed to divide it into two separated containers. Kingston poured some in a flask and the other in a syringe. "Open big," Kingston instructed Ace to open his mouth and drink the antidote. Velvet filled the syringe with the rest of it and gave to Kingston on hand. "Alright, grab the arrow and take it off him quickly while I inject him with this. It may hurt Ace in the process." He explained carefully to Velvet, she was getting ready while waiting for Kingston's orders. Both of them were sweating due to the tension. Their hands started to shake as the seconds increased.

"Could you two hurry up? I'm losing my breath…"

"Be quiet, we need some concentration." Kingston berated him for being impatient. "On the count of 3…" They started to get their arms firm enough to get everything done.

"One…Two…"

Ace closed his eyes, Velvet held her breath, and Kingston felt his mouth was getting dry. It was all or nothing for them as Velvet was holding the arrow and Ace's arm on the surface.

"…Three!" Velvet took off the arrow from Ace's shoulder while he started to scream in pain due to the effects of the poison making contact with the oxygen. Without any time to waste, Kingston injected the antidote on the injury in a manner like he was stabbing someone to death.

The process was successful.

Everyone started to make deep breaths; it was a close call for Ace. As they were done, Velvet fell on her knees while Kingston took a chair and sat on it. Ace laid his head down against the bunk, feeling more relieved but exhausted because of the antidote. "Dude, I almost kicked the bucket." He said it optimistic as always.

"So, are you cured?" Velvet asked them.

"Not yet, it is just temporary," Kingston replied.

"What!?" Both Ace and Velvet yelled in unison. "What do you mean I'm not completed cured yet?" Ace was rather upset and afraid of knowing he wasn't 100% safe.

"The herbs and antibiotics are only going to slow down the effect until I give you a more powerful antidote," Kingston said while examining the arrow with poison.

"Then what else are we missing for the real antidote?" Velvet asked.

"I will make things simple for you, Miss Scarlatina. The ingredients that I would need are a red sap, some sample of snake's venom, and a quite rare specimen of mushroom. The latter only grows under some tree's roots, like truffles but not edible." The sniper's explanations were good enough for Velvet. Red sap was abundant so it shouldn't be a problem for anyone to find it. Snake's venom wasn't hard either as Forever Fall got a lot of wildlife. The mushrooms were the greatest issues as those are underground without a way to detect them.

"Then what are we going to do with Ace?" Velvet looked at him while feeling worried because they could leave him alone.

"We need both of us to go and divide the search for the remaining ingredients. If one of us stays to look for Ace, it would take us all day."

"Long story short, I will die if you guys take too long, right?" Ace affirmed, at least trying to put a fake smile.

"Right, but we can't take you with us either." Kingston started to think in a way to keep an eye on Ace until he noticed the rhino Faunus. "You, I want to ask you to keep him safe while we are out."

"Mhhh…Do you know? I could reject it because I don't like you, but it wouldn't be fair for me since I owe him for what he did moments ago." The White Fang survivor didn't complaint about Kingston's request. "But remember this: the moment you are done saving his life, we will become enemies again. Don't make me regret it."

"Great, I always like the company, a shame wasn't a cute nurse though." Ace always had the time to say jokes on the worst times.

"Thank you, Mister." Velvet said it politely while she and Kingston were leaving the tent. Both ace and the rhino Faunus were completely away from each other, resting on their respective places. They remained silent for a whole minute until the Faunus spoke.

"So tell me something."

"Mhh? What is it?" Ace replied.

"How can you be so happy and optimistic when you are dying?"

"What makes you think that dying makes me happy?"

"I'm curious about how a person like you cannot take those kinds of things seriously."

"If you think that being optimistic means I'm being naïve of my surroundings, you are thinking of the wrong person."

"What do you mean?" The Faunus asked with amaze.

"I'm always aware of my surroundings. In a place like a Remnant, for people who you think are being optimistic, I see more like lifesavers. The truth is, someone has to give a smile to people and give them hope for their future." Ace's speech sounded sincere, not even for playful tone.

"Even though, why bother? You know that how life works. You know that someday all of us are going to die."

"But if I'm going to die, just like right now, at least should leave a smile on my last moments." No matter how bad the situation was for Ace, he was still doing his best efforts of being in high spirits.

"You are an odd person, for a traveler."

Ace tried to sit properly, but he was still under the antidote's effects. "Now that we are getting known better about each other, could you tell me your name?"

"Why you care about my name?" The Faunus looked curious about Ace's request.

"Just to refer you properly, or you want me to refer you with insulting names like those freaks in white robes?"

"I guess so, I'm Karkadann Bane." The Faunus presented himself in a friendly manner.

"That sounds mouthful for me, do you mind if I call you Karan?"

"Ehh, I think is better than being called 'horn-head', 'freak of nature', or any other thing that people tend to refer us. There is still one thing I never asked a human before."

"What is it?"

"Why you don't hate Faunus like everybody else? I just noticed that you have a Faunus girl following you."

"Oh, that? It is for two reasons: The first one is my bro because he is known for being infamous all around Atlas Academy."

"Is he your friend a Faunus?"

"No."

"Then why is he being hated by everyone around?"

"That is one thing I rather not want to talk about it, but all I can say he is not any different from the Faunus being shunned by humans." Ace tried to keep his smile, but his mouth made a serious expression. That really bothers him.

"Is that so?" Karan was lost in thought, wondering how many other humans could hate each other. It was in their nature.

"The second one is about a Faunus friend we used to have for a long time ago. He wasn't hated as much as my bro but still struggled to be accepted. His name was Argent Stakes, a hedgehog Faunus. It is said that no matter where he goes, he always found himself as a freak due to being the only albino Faunus in the whole Remnant."

"An albino Faunus? That is something I never heard of before."

"And I didn't tell you the worst part yet. My bro and Argent were pretty much rivals back then, their connection was something special for them due to being only themselves against everyone, to prove how they are not afraid of who they are. In the end, it never worked out for either."

"Why though? What makes you think that?"

"Because Argent died, and Jack blamed himself for it." Ace's words felt heavy, as he was coughing. "It was an explosion during a rescue mission on our first year. Both of them tried to save as many civilians as possible, Jack was still inside the building while Argent tried to drag him out before the place could get destroyed. No one came out and the building fell into ashes. Despite that, with everything in ruins and zero chances of survival, Jack was still alive under all the crumble."

"That sounds horrible." Karan looked at the floor, feeling sorry for it.

"Yeah, but losing a friend wasn't the only thing that Jack lose that day."

"Which is?"

"A wound that is impossible to heal, both physically and emotionally." Ace stopped smiling, as the story never got a happy ending. "After all what happened, my bro was still labeled as the plague. Life was still unfair to him, yet he is trying his best to overcome all that. That is something I can admire both humans and Faunus. Argent and Jack were the two faces of the same coin, different positions in life with a common goal. It was sad for all of us because Argent was our friend as well."

"You really like to talk a lot, you know that?" Karan commented jokingly.

"I'm good at it, nothing to be impressed." Ace replied similarly.

"But seriously though, I never met someone who cares about Faunus in that manner, as an equal."

"Isn't what the White Fang are fighting for?"

"Yes, but this something that I couldn't believe at first."

"Maybe you should talk with humans more often, without treating their lives of course."

"Hmph, maybe…" After done talking, Ace grabbed the arrow and started examining the same manner Kingston did. Apparently, both found it something odd about the metal on the arrowhead. Ace was curious about how something like that could ignore his Aura, it wasn't an ordinary metal but he got the feeling of seeing it before somewhere.

"Could it be…?"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the woods, Velvet and Kingston were busy getting the remaining ingredients for the strong antidote. They got an easy time to find the snake's venom and red sap. Velvet sometimes got distracted by tasting the red sap while Kingston was doing some hunt for snakes. As they were still missing the mushrooms, Kingston started to read one of his books about fungi.

"According to this book, that kind of mushroom is really similar to truffles when growing under tree's roots. The difference is its properties, being slimy and totally rotten. The most important thing to remember is that kind of mushroom grows under 'dead' trees roots. That should be easy if Forever Fall wasn't known for always having young and healthy trees."

"That sounds like a problem." Velvet commented as the last ingredient was harder to find.

"It is since we can't go far from here." Kingston got his back against a tree while reflecting about their options. "Our best chance is to dig under every single tree from the area."

"That would take us all day if we do that. Do you think there is like some kind of detector or something?" The bunny Faunus asked for more possibilities, not that it would help her anyway.

"Maybe, it is said some pigs have that skill to detect truffles underground. But of course, we can't get one right now in the middle of the woods." Kingston explained while examining the tree. He noticed it looked pretty old, as he changed his weapon to spear mode. He used the drill-like spearhead to dig closer to the tree's roots. Sadly for him, there wasn't the mushroom they need.

"You know, I was wondering something about you and Ace," Velvet asked while Kingston stopped for a moment to listen to the Faunus. "I know is none of my business, but why are you fighting for Jack's sake?"

"Is something wrong with it?" Kingston replied in his usual serious manner.

"It is the contrary actually, I think is great you are supporting your friend, but do you think is it worth to help me instead of focusing on your leader's problem? I don't want to be a load for you after what happened to Ace." Velvet felt ashamed feeling guilty about everything that happened so far.

"Ace already told you, you are not a load. In a way, I can see you are very similar to him."

"How so…?"

"You fight for the sake of other people. No matter what kind of person is, both of you is always willing to help the one in need." Kingston said it with a half-smile; Velvet sensed some jealousy from him.

They kept looking for the last ingredient; each hole they dug became hopeless as they couldn't find it. Velvet started to question herself if fighting for the sake of other people was always a good idea, as being a Huntress always meant to help people and make Remnant a more peaceful place. What choices are Kingston willing to do for his partner? What drives Ace to be always ready to help others? At this point, the bunny Faunus never made that kind of questions before.

Only one question kept on her head: Whose sake were they really fighting for?

After so many holes, Velvet sensed a horrible odor coming from one of them. It started to irritate her as the smell kept growing, which make Kingston's attention focused on the source of the said smell. They kept walking, while he was using Velvet as a detector. Was her nose that sensible? She was feeling sick as the closer they were getting to the smell; she stopped and tried to hold herself to do not barf. It was a hit for them.

"There it is…" Kingston gave her a piece of clothing to cover her nose while he was digging a hole. They were feeling the odor getting stronger the deeper the hole was. Velvet was almost crying while Kingston was just felt the smell out of the blue. As the clock was still ticking, the sniper stopped using the drill. Moving the dirt aside, they were able to see the mushrooms still humid and slimy. "We got it, at last…" He commented on satisfaction.

"Thank goodness, now we can finally cure Ace!" Velvet was holding a bag and her breath while Kingston put the mushrooms inside of it. "We should go back, as soon as possible."

"Agreed, let's get going." They started walking back to the White Fang camp, or what was left of it. The walk was longer than expected, as the day became darker. For how long they were outside? Their surrounding felt heavier for some reason, as they were being watched. They kept walking without any major obstacle on their way, no Grimm, no Purifier, nothing at all.

They reached the camp, Velvet and Kingston saw both Ace and Karan still on their respective places, asleep. It felt like heartwarming seeing them in a peaceful state. "Well, it looks like they got along pretty well."

"That's Ace for you, always making friends everywhere he goes," Kingston commented while doing small slap on his partner's face, trying to wake him up. "Are you still with us?"

"*Yawn* Oh hey, I'm still in the world of the living?" Ace tried to open his eyes, but he was still snoozing off.

"It seems like it…" Velvet commented.

"Okay we go enough chit-chat; I'll start making the real antidote." Kingston took all the ingredients and started to cut them into pieces while mixing it in a beaker. As the sniper used the chemistry kit from his backpack to elaborate carefully and trying to not mix the ingredient at the wrong time or place.

Velvet was checking on Ace's health by touching his forehead, he was hot like a fever. She grabbed some rags and water to put on top of him. "You are not a nurse but you are cute enough to be one, Velvet." Ace was mumbling, as the poison started to make him act more delusional.

"This is isn't good, for how long the antidote will be ready?"

"Don't rush me, Miss Scarlatina. I'm doing my best to make it good in the shortest amount of time." Kingston replied while using his Semblance to make it more precisely.

"Mister, did something happen while we were gone?" Velvet asked the White Fang survivor.

"Not much, he just liked to talk a lot."

"I can already imagine it. Thanks for taking care of him in our absence, Mister."

"Call me Karan, drop the formalities already." His tone felt less hostile than before. "Now, are you still aware of our promise? We are becoming enemies until he is cured, right?"

"Yes, unfortunately…" Velvet replied in disappointment.

"Ace, do you mind some heat on this?" Kingston asked his partner to use his weapon, Ace lifted it sideways while using fire mode from his Semblance. The mixture started to get some bubbles and weird odor which wasn't good neither bad. "Good, keep it for a couple of seconds." The sniper took one of Ace's knives to pour small portions of the venom into the mix.

"99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall.~" Ace was singing, his condition was getting worse as he became a drunk man.

"We are losing him!" Velvet started to feel panic, much to Karan's annoyance.

"Alright, it's almost done. Same process as before." Kingston separated the real antidote between a syringe and a small jar. Velvet gave the jar to Ace, as he was drinking it while doing a sour face due to the antidote's bad flavor. The sniper took the syringe while holding Ace's shoulder where the injury is. "Count of three again…" They were in the same positions as before.

"One…"

Kingston was sweating.

"Two…"

Velvet's ears twitched.

"And…"

"Wait!" Velvet interrupted the process.

"What is it now!? We are running out of time!" Kingston got upset with the bunny Faunus.

"They are coming…"

"What?"

"The Purifiers… are coming." Much to their surprise, Karan left the tent in haste to see their surroundings. He saw torches coming from the woods. They were getting closer to them.

"Shouldn't I ask better timing for this!?" Karan said sarcastically while getting into the rush.

"We need to get out here, now!" Kingston shouted to both Faunus while lifting his partner from the shoulders. "I can't give him the antidote until we are cost clear."

As the voices got louder from outside, some of the Purifiers started to pray while some were throwing Molotov and torches to the camp. The camp got set on fire around, burning slowly while leaving no exit to both Faunus and travelers.

"What are we going to do? We are surrounded in flames!" Velvet was agitated due to the situation. As the front of the tent was blocked by the fire, they had to think quickly a way to escape from there.

"Let me open the path for you." Karan took out his weapon, an unusual large chainsaw, to cut the tent while leaving an open space to leave. Unfortunately, the noise gave away their positions about the escape.

"There they are!" One of the Purifiers pointed to them from a distance. They chased after them.

The group tried to run away farther from them into the woods. In the darkness everyone else, mostly Karan, got a difficult time to see while Velvet was the only one able to guide them. Carrying Ace just made them go slow, as Kingston still needed to inject him with the antidote. They couldn't lose the Purifiers as there were a lot of them. No matter how far the group tried to go away from, they still were able to catch up their speed.

"This is pointless; we can't carry a half-dead man through the woods!" Karan yelled, feeling anxious and still weak to fight the Purifiers.

"Maybe not us, but you can."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Karan replied in disbelief with Kingston's comment.

"Tell me you are not suggesting…?" Velvet felt the same way.

"That may sound like a risky move, but I need Mr. Karan and Miss Scarlatina to take Ace somewhere safe while I distract them."

"Are you crazy!? What I'm supposed to do with this guy?"

"Just inject him on the wound with this." Kingston handed over the syringe and passed Ace to Karan's shoulder.

"I'll distract them as well." Velvet volunteered as well.

"No, I can't let you do that, for your own safety." Kingston insisted on not letting her take the risk for them.

"Nah-huh, I want to help Ace much as you do. We might have a chance to drive them away with two people than just leaving you doing all the work." Velvet sounded determined, not really easy for Kingston to convince her otherwise.

"Do whatever you want, bunny. I will keep my word on taking him somewhere safe." Karan didn't object to doing what Kingston asked for. Everyone nodded at each other while taking separated pathways. Velvet climbed and jump between the trees while Kingston went by ground towards where the Purifiers were at. Karan went to the opposite direction, further to the dark woods while carrying Ace by his right shoulder and holding the antidote with the left hand. He kept running away without looking back.

Velvet was getting the most attention between her and Kingston due being a Faunus. It helped Kingston to counter-attack to use the sniper rifle to shoot some of them from a safe distance. Despite falling like dominoes, the Purifiers' numbers didn't stop increasing. It was hard for Kingston to keep up with their exact positions. Some of those white-robed people returned fire with their crossbows and elemental arrows. Kingston and Velvet had to be careful to do not get hit by any non-Dust incrusted arrows as those might be poisonous like the one Ace got hit by.

Velvet kicked some of the Purifiers out of the way while jumping over their heads. One arrow flew across the woods as she could hear the sound of the crossbow clacking. She dodged in time but something felt wrong for her. One Purifier pulled off an odd whistle from his sleeves and starting to blow it. The whistle didn't make any noise, as it was broken. The truth was, it was a dog whistle.

"AAAAAAAAGH!" Velvet screamed in pain as the dog whistle affected her bunny ears. She stopped while crouching and covering her ears. The frequency was really bad that almost make her ears to bleed. The Purifiers saw the opportunity to trap her and using some ropes to hold her as a prisoner. Kingston noted what they were intending to do, he left his position and his weapon, Predator's Eye, changed from sniper-rifle to spear.

"Get away from her!" Kingston started to fight some of the cult members in close-combat, which in reality wasn't his specialty. He repelled some of the arrows in the other direction as more of the Purifiers used mazes and shields to fight him back. It was getting impossible as it was a lot of them. One Purifier launched bolas to Kingston, caught him off guard. It immobilized Kingston, where he wasn't able to no longer hold his position. The Purifiers started to beat him while he was on his knees, making him lose consciences and finally knocking him down. He was out of combat.

Velvet was still under submission from the dog whistle; one of the cult members punched her in the face. It was an instant Knock-Out for her. Both Kingston and Velvet got captured by the Purifiers, carried like slaves with chains on their necks and wrists. "Hey, where the other two go?" One of the Purifiers asked, noting Ace and Karan were nowhere to be found.

"It doesn't matter, now we already got enough for the ritual of tomorrow. We can't let Master Copper wait anymore."

"You are right, brother. I hope to finally see our 'savior' and bring us the salvation we were working for."

"After tomorrow, Remnant will be safe from Grimm once and for all." The Purifiers were done assaulting, as the flames grew in the White Fang camp. The place fell into ashes, leaving no trace. As the broken moon illuminated their road, the cult walked back to their own camp while carrying torches and crossbows. No one was safe from their presence.

Velvet regained some of her senses back, but it was already too late to do anything. The only thing she could think was about Ace's well-being and her team. She closed her eyes, trying to rest until she could have enough strength to fight back against the cult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter took me longer as I'm still working on the next one. I hope you like it and leave a comment or opinion about the story. I will really appreciate it because I'm still learning more about the world of RWBY and their characters.


	5. Welcome to the Lonely Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are almost reaching the climax of the story, where things are going to turn for best or worst.  
> Disclaimer: RWBY Characters, places and terminologies with the exception of the Original Characters, belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions.

_Ace, you know sometimes I’m really disappointed in you for not taking things seriously. I’ve been trying to teach how to be a strong man, but it seems you don’t really care despite you have the potential. Why you can’t be more like Jack? You should be more like him. I know I didn’t give you enough attention due to my duties at Atlas, but I’m trying to do my best to keep you safe and grow stronger to survive in this harsh reality. Jack is much of a son like you, but you are still the most important person in my life._

_For all what is good, understand this Ace: You are what give me hope to keep fighting for a future for both you and Jack. The only time I was proud of you was when you skipped a year from combat school and starting attending Atlas Academy. Despite all, you still think this is a game. It is time to wake up and understand that you can’t always avoid conflict with a smile and sweet talk. There will be times when you have to show determination and a clear mind to act without other people around you to tell what to do._

_Please, I’m asking you not at your office, but as your father. Keep fighting for what you believe is worth for. Don’t fight for amusement; fight for the people you think is the best worth to protect for. I’m sure you already know the answer to how much you care for Jack and any people you meet in your life. Don’t disappoint me again, Ace._

* * *

 “*Gasp* GAAAAH!” Ace woke up abruptly on top of some blankets and a syringe on his bandaged shoulder. The light-bulb was bothering him since he doesn’t know how long was unconscious. He couldn’t remember what happened around since he woke up on a dark isolated place instead of a tent from the White Fang camp. Ace’s head was spinning, feeling dizzy and looking everything blurry. He tried to stand up, but his legs were still weak as the body felt heavier than usual.

His vision was recovering slowly, as his eyes were moving a lot in different directions to examine his surroundings. He started to notice Karan sitting on a chair, sleeping. Ace took deep breaths while letting his Aura to let him recover himself since the poison worn out from his body. He checked in his pockets to see what he got, it was an arrowhead. He couldn’t remember why he kept it in his pocket the same one that pierced his Aura. _‘Whatever this thing is made of, I need to find out how they got such thing on their possession.’_ Ace was thinking about it while taking a closer look at it.

Slowly, he tried once more to stand up on his own. He finally was feeling his legs as those touched the ground. Finally able to stand, Ace was not moving to maintain his balance and walk slowly towards his backpack. He was looking for all his belongings, which were a set of knives and his main weapon, ‘Friend’s Luck’ in their respective places. With the silence of the place he noticed something odd about, Velvet and Kingston weren’t present.

“Hey, Karan… Where are they?” Ace makes a gentle shake on the Faunus’ shoulder waking him up. Karan started to open his eyes with an angry expression as he didn’t like to be bothered while sleeping. He was yawning and rubbing his eyes to see clearly due to his poor vision.

“What do you want now?” Karan replied.

“Where are they, my partner and Velvet?” Ace asked with a worried expression on his face.

“I’m sorry…”

“What do you mean you are sorry!?”

“I…I did what they asked me for.”

“What... Are... You... Talking about!?”

“They got captured by those lunatics. Your partner and that girl asked me to take you safe while they would distract them long enough to keep you safe.” That explanation wasn’t really a good thing for Ace to hear about. “I’m sorry but I couldn’t help them since you were still unconscious.”

“You are joking…” Ace replied in a non-emotional tone. “You are just kidding, right?”

“I wish I was, but that is the truth.” Karan tone was filled with regrets, never thought a White Fang member could show some remorse. Ace got his head down, thinking of what to do now that both his partner and Velvet were trapped by those crazy people. He never was a man who could make his own choices since it was easier to let some take the charge unless it was something Ace really wanted.

“So, you don’t have an idea where they could be?” Ace was feeling exasperated.

“I don’t have the fricking clue where they are.”

“Then you don’t have anything else on your mind? I mean, where are we anyway?”

“We are in hidden storehouse; the White Fang have so many across Remnant in case of emergencies.” Karan pointed out the flag on the wall, while Ace looked around with food and ammo on shelves. Who could ever think to find a place like that? Ace tried to keep looking around, but with the injury being surrounded by bandages on his shoulder started to bother him by of the pain. “You shouldn’t move just yet, you barely got recovered.”

“You don’t have to worry; my Aura should help me to recover quickly since I’m not under poison.”

“That is something I forgot to ask, like how the hell you got affected by the arrow if you Huntsmen have your Auras to avoid that kind of stuff.”

“That is something I’m not so sure yet but is probably they are equipped with some rare metal that ignores Aura. Do you know how troublesome will be in the future if someone has this kind of metal on their hands?” Ace expressed both concern and frustration.

“You know, that is something I noticed about you and your partner examining that thing like you already know about the origins of that metal.”

“He did it as well? Then it isn’t my imagination.” Ace was shocked that arrow was giving him weird vibes. He started to recall something that would help him to understand better the arrowhead. Ace took out his weapon and used it in electric mode, using the blunt side of the knife to touch it. With a small touch, the metal started to glow white and yellow as reacting to the electricity. “That’s it!”

“What is it?” Karan asked due how excited he sounded at the reaction of the arrow.

“Sorry I can’t tell you what is but I need to tell my partner about this right now!” Ace grabbed necessary ammo and some food from the storehouse to finally leave that place.

“Where the hell are you going!?”

“I need to rescue my friends, I have to go. Thanks for the help and all but I must leave.”

“Sorry, but I can’t let you leave here.” Karan stood in front of the door, blocking the only exit.

“What? Why you don’t want me to leave?” Ace expressed with curiosity.

“I must fulfill my promise of taking care of you until you are completely recovered. Even if you did, you are going to risk your life again since those guys are still dangerous. You would make me think that my time of helping you was a waste if you are going to get killed again.”

“I will disappoint you then because I’m completely healed.”

“Are you aware what kind of promise I did? I said to them I would become your enemy again if you get completely cured. This means I won’t hold myself or take you down and send you to bed again.”

“If it is the case, I’m 100% healed.” Ace got a determined look in his eyes. He was taking the situation seriously.

“I see…” Karan put his mask while taking out his large chainsaw and did a defensive stance to guard the door. Not letting Ace pass for any circumstance. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you about this.” He spoke in a deeper voice, almost trying to intimidate Ace.

“No worries…” Ace got his weapon ready on his right hand while holding a regular knife with the left hand on a reverse grip. “If it means saving my friends, then I won’t hesitate to rely on violence.” Both sides looked at each other with ferocious glares, not moving for a couple of seconds until they started to rush towards each other. Their weapons clashed as the sparks jumped from their blades, blocking the attacks. No matter who wins, it would be a matter of time before things escalate on a destructive level for them. A battle was unleashed inside of that place.

**Lieutenant of the White Fang:**

**Karkadann Bane **

“Trying to fight me is pointless, so stop this ridicule act of machismo!” Karan yelled with the entire roar from his chainsaw.

“You wish, I’m not going stay here doing nothing while my partner and a cute lady are in danger because of my fault!” Ace dodged the big swings as Karan did to maintain the knife-wielding traveler away from the door.

“If you think have the necessary strength to confront those white robe lunatics by yourself, show me you can defeat me and leave this place with all your skills on top.” Karan made a vertical swing, almost like he was holding an actual sword. Ace couldn’t believe he had to fight in order to leave that place. There wasn’t any other way to convince him. The Faunus was fighting aggressively enough to give Ace problems to counter-attack. The reach of Karan’s chainsaw was too dangerous for the traveler to even taking the offensive.

Ace changed to Ice mode to shoot projectiles in order to immobilize his opponent, but Karan was able to block and repel some of those attacks. It was difficult for Ace of not finding a good opening to stop the Faunus. More big swings from the chainsaw became more dangerous as how it makes Ace tired quicker than usual. Karan did a charge attack than not only Ace dodged in a matter of seconds, but also the chainsaw pierced the wall and getting stuck in the process. Ace saw as an opportunity and decided to strike Karan from the back. Sadly for Ace, the attack did nothing as the Faunus’ skin was thick as regular armor. Karan released his weapon by doing a spinning attack while turning back to Ace.

“You are pretty fast for a heavy guy.” Ace commented while jumping around and dodging the chainsaw attacks.

“I already fought a fast opponent like you. It was a Schnee girl to boot.” Karan sounded oddly confident about his comment.

“Oh really…? That sounds interesting; maybe you can tell me the rest of the story when I’m done kicking your butt, friend.”

“ _If_ you can kick my butt, friendo.” Karan kept doing large swing around the room that pretty much destroyed some boxes and shelves. It was hard for Ace to fight the White Fang member in a confined space like that storehouse. Ace tried to look around to find a way to leave that place and have some field advantage.

Ace jumped between walls and shelves to keep his distance. He shot on the floor with another ice projectile, making Karan lose his balance and slipped. Ace rushed towards him, trying to do a jump stab from a fair height into the air.

“Gotcha!” Karan already anticipated the strategy, as he raised his hand and grabbed Ace from the face. The traveler fell into his trap since the Faunus already experienced that kind of tactic before. Karan lifted Ace high enough to smash him against the ground, but the Faunus wasn’t expecting that Ace got another trick on his sleeve. The traveler’s Aura was glowing yellow with sparks around his whole body, electrocuting Karan. Ace freed himself by using his Semblance, never expecting it would have the same effect on contact.

“Not bad… You really know how to play dirtier than most Huntsmen.” Karan complemented Ace for his pragmatic move.

“Thanks, but you didn’t see enough of my tricks to take you down.” Ace was smirking, really confident of his skill to defeat an opponent who is double his size. The traveler was moving fast enough to disorient his opponent around and unable to react quickly. Ace was the one fighting aggressively now that got the upper hand. He used the elemental properties of his weapon to finally deal damage on the White Fang member. Shooting from all directions at high speed to slow him down with ice on a point which the chainsaw stopped working on how frozen it was.

“Grrr…fine! I was getting tired of using that damn thing.” Karan ditched his weapon in order to fight bare-handed. Ace kept using his weapon since it was the only method to stop him than just relying on his Aura. Now the things were on Ace’s favor, he would be more cautious with him in hand-to-hand combat. The fight was far from over, as they still got enough stamina to keep fighting while being inside the storehouse.

Ace was doing some slashes and kicks in an acrobatic manner that was hard for Karan to defend himself from the blows. Roundhouse kicks and sweeps were the main tactics for Ace’s offensive so could have a clearer picture of a possible opening to use Electric mode to paralyze the Faunus. Karan launched punches and jabs on Ace, but he couldn’t even touch him due to the traveler’s superhuman speed and reflexes. He grabbed the table to launch at Ace, as he not only dodged but got vulnerable for a counter attack. The Faunus kicked Ace in the face, sending him flying across the room.

On the floor, Ace tried to get on his feet while looking at his opponent. He was cornered without a way to move. Karan charged an attack that most likely will knock out Ace even with his Aura. The Faunus started to charge another rush attack, in position to not let Ace dodge from any side. Karan went full speed towards the traveler, with a pretty dangerous position

“Give it up already!” Karan yelled at full lung to Ace, with an imposing tone.

“I won’t!” Ace replied in determination.

“How do you expect to rescue your allies if you can’t take this seriously? Life is not a game!”

“I won’t change what I think. As long I can have a reason to fight for, I will never stop doing what I enjoy in life!” Ace was already in defensive stance, extending both arms in taunting way.

The White Fang member was done charging, rushed against the corner where Ace was trapped. He couldn’t see as the attack pretty much blinded him due to so much energy he used. He did a great impact which caused the corner to fall apart. The attack was powerful enough to maybe kill someone regardless of the state of someone’s Aura. Despite all that, there was a single problem that costed Karan’s victory.

Ace used two normal knives to hang on the ceiling, avoiding the attack and jumping behind of the Faunus’ back. The traveler reacted quickly using his Semblance by engulfing himself in electricity with his Aura. Using both thumbs to touch Karan’s neck from both sides to shock him and knock him down, finally weakening him enough to withdraw from the fight.

“*Pant* Not…bad…” Karan complemented while being kneeled.

“I guess you were right. I wouldn’t be able to save my friends if I couldn’t take you seriously.” Ace grabbed his backpack while heading towards the exit. “Thank you, for awaken my fighting spirit.” Ace opened the door, leaving the storehouse whit a smile of satisfaction.

Karan, on the other hand, wasn’t angrier, but rather feeling accomplished of knowing he fulfilled his promise and paid his debt with him. He sat on the center of the room, resting to recover his energy in order to think on a plan to fight the Purifiers. He got no regrets of losing the fight.

**Karkadann Bane: Gracefully Surrendered**

Ace walked into the woods while trying to pinpoint where the White Fang camp was, he assumed it wasn’t far from the storehouse. Walking a couple of miles for 30 minutes, Ace saw smoke from a close distance. He began to worry since he started to remember small fragments of what happened last night. As he was getting closer to whatever was left on the camp, Ace was aiming with his weapon while walking slowly around the area.

 _‘This doesn’t look good.’_ Ace was thinking while looking the place in ashes. He felt anxious about how he lamented about not being able to fight on that moment when the Purifiers arrived. Ace saw some traces from footsteps; those looked if they were doing a march while two long parallel lines kept following them. The most he could think was the cult members carried Kingston and Velvet on a wagon like slaves, probably.

The traveler kept following the traces until those stopped in the middle of the road, with a truck blocking the pathway. He jumped over it and kept following the road despite there weren’t any more traces. The idea alone of being dragged by any of those cult members sent shivers to Ace as how terrifying can be for people like them. Granted, they were using much better equipment than bandits by suing Dust and that rare metal for crossbows and possible another kind of weapons at their disposal.

On the middle of the road, Ace saw something on the ground completely torn apart. It was a dream-catcher, the same one what he gave to Velvet on the first night he and Kingston met her.

 _‘Mhhh… so I’m going in the right direction, clever lady.’_ Ace chuckled while thinking of how smart of Velvet to drop it on the way to give Ace any lead to their location: Although, it wasn’t enough to give a good idea of where the Purifier’s camp is. He kept walking but out of the road while hiding among the bushes and trees, hoping to find any patrols on his way. Like a predator hunting his prey, Ace was crawling and rushing from different stops in order to not blow his cover.

“Man, why do we have to explore if today is the ritual?” Ace heard voices coming ahead from his direction.

“Because Master Copper wanted more wood for the bonfire, we can’t start the ritual. We aren’t the only ones doing the errands you know?” Another Purifier replied to his fellow brother.

“Shut up you two, the faster we are done collecting the wood, the sooner we can return and relax until the ritual starts at night.” A third member, probably the one in charge of that small group, berated to them. He looked tough as he was carrying a huge ax with one hand. Ace kept following them while listening to their conversation.

“Yuck… I feel dirty because one of those freaks grabbed me on the mornin’ while beggin’ for its life.”

“No kidding, I couldn’t feel bad for them since it’s their fault for why this world went to hell.”

“No need to get angry since, after tonight, we are going to be free from them.”

“You know? Is it me or Master Copper got his eyes fixed on that bunny Faunus after we brought them to the camp?” One of them asked with a curious tone.

“I dunno, they all look the same to me.”

“I’m always wondered if they do animal noises if you torture them, maybe I should try it when we come back.” The big one commented, he sounded eager despite not being able to see his face trough that masks.

“Oh I want to see it too; shame the human that was with the bunny Faunus can’t do any noises.”

“Speaking of that human, are you sure is one?”

“Whaddaya mean? Ya think he is not?”

“No, I’m pretty sure he is human. He got no ears, or tail, or skin, or any other animal feature that Faunus tent to have.”

“Then why the hell ya brought it up? If he is human, then why asking if he is one or not?”

“I’m not sure, is just that seeing him on the cage with the others felt fitting for some reason.”

“Maybe…”

“Who cares, human or Faunus, there is no deny that he supported them, therefore guilty like the rest of them.” The big guy interjected well speaking in an upbeat manner.

“AMEN!” The other two agreed in unison. Ace didn’t like what he was hearing. They talked about a ritual but couldn’t know exactly _what_ kind of ritual or its purpose. It didn’t matter for him since his priority was finding his partner and Velvet before the sun goes down.

Ace acted quickly by ambushing one by one. The first one got grabbed from the neck while being electrocuted in the bushes. The second one was grabbed from the tree as Ace was hanging upside down with the legs on the branches. They weren’t fully aware of Ace and his stealth skills.

“Why you two are so quiet?” The big one spoke while turning his head to them, only discovering they disappeared out of nowhere. “The hell…!?” He prepared his ax while starting to fell panic. “Alright, I hope you got fun because I don’t like it.” Ace felt cheery, as he started to make echo sounds like the monster from the movie _Saturday the 14 th_.

“Who is there!?” The big one was getting more agitated as he couldn’t see anything. He walked backward, thinking he couldn’t get surprised on that way. His heart was beating at a faster rate that couldn’t have an idea if whatever was chasing them was even human or Grimm. Ace was trying to hold his laugh, enjoying every second of their sense of despair. He felt sadistic by being feed out of their despair, but they couldn’t anything more fitting for people like them.

Ace left his hiding spot by standing between a tree and the back of the last Purifier, moving towards him. He was getting closer to Ace, anticipating the biggest scare of his life. “Are you the lumberjack?” Ace asked so innocently that made the Purifier jump in terror and trying to chop with his ax at Ace. Not only the traveler dodged the attack by jumping over him but also making the ax stuck on the tree’s trunk. Ace stood over the ax’s sideways, taunting the big guy. “Peekaboo!” Ace stomped on the last Purifier’s face, getting launched by a few feet away from the tree. He tried to stand up and runway from Ace, but he leaped towards the Purifier and holding him with his blade, pointing at his neck.

“Please mercy!” The Purifier was panicking as he was on the ground with Ace on top of his back.

“Isn’t that a funny thing? One of your friends said the same story with a Faunus asking the same thing to him.” Ace stopped smiling as he just got his weapon on Fire mode.

“What do you want from us!?”

“Two simple things…” Ace’s face got closer to the Purifier’s ear, whispering in a sadistic manner. “Where is everyone?” Ace got his weapon closer to the Purifier’s neck. “And what exactly is that ritual of yours about?”

* * *

 Inside of a cell, Velvet woke up with his arms tied on her back. She felt trapped like an animal while looking around her, she saw Kingston on the same cell with bruises on his face. He was on the ground completely unconscious. “Oh, my…what they did to you!?” Velvet was scared and worried about Kingston’s state, she couldn’t believe what was happening to them.

“Sorry…” Kingston mumbled something, but he wasn’t awake.

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry, Dana…” Kingston spoke again.

“Hey, wake up…please.” Velvet made gentle shakes on Kingston with her foot. He started to gain conscious.

“Mhh…Dana?” Kingston’s sight was blurry, only starting to fully notice Velvet. “Oh, it’s you Miss Scarlatina. Sorry, I must confuse you with my sister.” Kingston sounded embarrassed.

“It’s alright, but why you thought I was your sister?” Velvet asked with doubt.

“…” Kingston kept quiet, just looking away while analyzing his surroundings.

“Well..?” Velvet got ignored by the sniper. Kingston didn’t say a single word as he was looking for a way to escape from the cage.

“Sorry, it’s just…bad memories, that all.” Kingston replied in an evasive manner.

“Bad memories…? Sorry if I made remember something unpleasant.” Velvet apologized to the sniper.

“It’s not that, it isn’t the first time I got trapped in a cage before,” Kingston commented while examining the lock.

“It… it isn’t? How so…?”

“Let’s say we got trouble with the wrong people back at Mistral.” Kingston didn’t look happy about it. He checked if he got anything to free himself, but he was handcuffed with both hands on the bars. “Dammit…if only I could have lock picks or something with me.”

“Look!” Velvet saw more cages in the same room, full of White Fang members handcuffed as well. It was a horrible scene to see, not even the most discriminating people of Atlas could treat Faunus with such ways. “They are putting us like animals in a zoo, how can be so… _inhumane_?”

“This is worse than I could expect it…we need to think a way to get out of here, now.” Kingston whispered to Velvet while shaking the chains, but it only attracted the attention of the guard.

“Shuddup ya! I’m tryin’ to sleep…” The Guard only yelled at Kingston, he was slacking off.

“It's not used, we can’t free ourselves.” Velvet commented as her handcuffs felt tighter than usual. Someone knocked on the door from outside, annoying the guard.

“*Groan*…who is bothering me while I’m busy?” The guard stood up while heading to the door. When he opened the door, his expression was full of fear. A man in red robes the room, with a menacing presence. “M-Master Copper! What is this honor to come here, in a place full of filthy creatures?”

“I’m just checking that everything is in good conditions.” Their leader turned his head towards Velvet, almost having the sight of a hawk in an unpleasant feeling for her. “I want to inspect on that Faunus first, before starting the ritual of tonight.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to receive rabies or something by touching one of them.”

“Are you doubting my authority?” The red-robed leader looked at his subordinate with anger.

“N-No, Master…”

“Good…you can leave the room and get yourself something to eat. I will look those Faunus for you.”

“Yes, Master.” The guard left the room with a nervous expression. Whoever the leader was, it never was good news, to begin with. He started to get closer to Velvet in a creepy manner, holding her from the chin between his fingers while examining her face. She couldn’t fight back much since she was trapped.

“Tell me something, how many youngsters are so interested in Faunus? What is appealing for them? That is something I never was able to answer the question.” The leader started to sniff Velvet’s hair, something he could describe her aroma as sweets. “I wouldn’t mind knowing that secret for myself.” He was whispering on Velvet’s bunny ears.

“Get your hands off her, repugnant geezer,” Kingston yelled at the Purifier leader, he didn’t like how he was treating Velvet.

“Oh? You have something with her that I don’t know?” Master Copper raised his hand full of rings, as he started to slap Kingston on the face multiple times. No matter how much he tried to use his Aura to reduce damage, the leader trespasses it with every blow like nothing. Kingston noticed the rings were made of the same kind of metal as the arrow that Ace got hit with back at the camp. “Let me ask you something, why you should care for someone who is not as the same kind as you?” He kept hitting Kingston with the same hand full of rings, leaving him with more cuts and bruises. Velvet tried to close her eyes, as she was horrified by that violent scene.

“If you hate so much Faunus, why you would care about being a creep to someone like Velvet?” Kingston replied, making Master Copper even more furious with him. Before the leader could punch him with the closed fist, someone knocked on the door.

“Master, you got an important call on your private room.” A cult member called from outside of the room, which made the leader stop hitting Kingston.

“Hmph, I guess I will deal with you later.” He accommodated his rings while using a handkerchief to clean his hands full of blood. “I want him to go first on the ritual, serving as an example.” The leader pointed to Kingston for his subordinate. He nodded in agreement. Both Purifiers left the room, leaving only the prisoners to talk among themselves. Some of the White Fang members started to comment on how even a human-like Master Copper can be a complete hypocrite and ruthless towards another of his own kind.

“K-Kingston?” Velvet tried to interact with the sniper, as he was losing his senses due to the painful blows he received from the cult leader. “Kingston! Answer me!” Velvet started to cry as she felt so powerless to help her friend. She blamed herself for what happened to him.

“Velvet…” Kingston started to answer the Faunus, barely speaking clear. “This isn’t your fault…you can’t blame yourself but every bad thing because of who you are…”

“What would you know? You never were classified as a freak in your life! People close to me are suffering because of me. How can you understand that kind of pain my species had to endure it for decades!?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I tell you why.” The sniper got his eyes looking away from her, out of shame of himself. “I’m sorry if you have to feel that way.” Both stood in silence, hopeless of the situation. There wasn’t any way to escape; they couldn’t know how Ace was doing. It was just them, unable to do anything to save themselves. It looked at the end for both of Velvet and Kingston.

“Excuse me; I will get in if you don’t mind.” Someone talked outside of the room, he sounded oddly friendly for some reason.

“Who gave you permission to get inside the prison?” The guard from outside started to interrogate that person.

“Master Copper asked me to adjust the chains and handcuffs of the prisoners, just to make sure aren’t loose or something.”

“If it is true then what is the password?”

“Uuuuh… _you left your bed wet last night._ ”

“…” The guard kept quiet for a moment, unamused about the answer. “Alright get in and do it quick. It is almost time for the ritual anyway. Make sure all to give them a good beat down if they cause you any trouble.” The guard opened the door, letting another Purifier to get inside of the room and check on the prisoners. He walked funny for some reason.

“Don’t get near him.” Velvet warned in an angry expression as the Purifier was getting near Kingston.

“Sorry to bother you, I’m just checking if he is still alive for tonight.” The cult was checking while putting his hands all over him. “Not looking good huh? Yeah, Copper must be really tough to give you such treatment.” He sounded friendly towards them, which it was odd compared to any other Purifier they encountered so far. He used some rags and water to clean the blood from Kingston’s face, something that made the sniper notice something felt out of place.

“Who…Who are you?” Kingston asked the Purifier, as he couldn't see through his mask. Velvet and Kingston only got little glimpses of his eyes, as those were full of hope. They couldn’t believe as they felt a familiar presence.

“Who I am doesn’t matter. The only thing you must know is when the night falls; the odds will go in your favor. This is when _Lady Luck_ will help the _King of Diamonds_ and the _Ace of Clubs_ to start a game that no one will never forget.” As the Purifier was done talking, he left the room without any more comments. Velvet and Kingston looked at each other with shock as they couldn’t believe who came and talked to them.

“Hey, didn’t that guy felt…familiar for you?” Velvet asked the sniper, as she was feeling more comfortable with that Purifier.

“Indeed it was…” Kingston heard some metal clanking on his pockets, as he found the ticket for his greatest comeback. He made an odd smirk which made the Faunus notice it immediately.

“Huh, this is the first time I see you smiling in that manner.”

“Yeah, I don’t smile that often unless something is going better for us.” Kingston relaxed by sitting on his cell, waiting patiently for when the ritual begins. “Remember this, Miss Scarlatina. We as Team JAQK always have a motto for every kind of situation when we are ready to gamble for our lives.”

“And what is that motto you are talking about?”

_“We are all in...”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked the chapter, feel free to leave a comment and an opinion about the story so far.


	6. End of the Road for the Lost Souls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter felt a bit rushed, but I had important thing during the week. I think we are getting closer to the ending. Enjoy the chapter.  
> Disclaimer: RWBY Characters, places and terminologies with the exception of the Original Characters, belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions.

On the courtyard at midnight, a lot of cult members gathered around while Velvet, Kingston, and the White Fang prisoners were in line with chains and handcuffs. A huge bonfire illuminated the camp in the middle of the courtyard while the platform was in front of it. There was one cult member with black robes and a huge ax on both hands. A piece of rectangular metal was next to the member on the platform, it was easy to assume that it was the setup. It was a terrifying scene for Velvet and Kingston to see how wrong everything was.

Both of our heroes tried to look around to see where the ‘friendly Purifier’ was. It was hard to notice him among the crowd since all Purifiers got the same robes and mask. Different sizes and bodies complex that could narrow down, but it wouldn't help anyways. “What do you think is going to happen?” Velvet whispered to Kingston while being on the front line of the prisoners.

“Not a good thing that’s for sure,” Kingston replied with at low volume, as both of them weren’t exactly excited to know what exactly the ritual is.

On top of the platform, their leader used the stair to get up there, walking calmly and composed while all the members looked at him with admiration. He stood firm and ready to give him a speech while the black-robe member stood behind him. The air became heavier as something started to feel oppressed and with a sense of dread. Master Copper cleared his throat and took small sips of his cup of wine. Everyone leaned their head towards him as waiting with anticipation of what he has to say.

“Brothers, Sisters! Thank you all for coming on this special day, one where it will be memorable to all of us…!” His voice was so loud that everything outside of the camp could hear clearly. He kept giving his speech as the members got delighted in their eyes. “…As you may know already, our fathers, mothers, grandparents, and ancestors, all of them lived and experienced the horrors of the Great War when it was unleashed in Remnant. Hate, fear, injustice and death, all of them were brought to us for the only idea of domination. All those emotions are what created the Grimm, to punish us for all those actions and remind us that we are never going to have a future as long the main source exist in Remnant. I want to ask you all, to know if you learned about the main cause of the Grimm. DO ALL OF YOU KNOW WHAT THE MAIN CAUSE OF THE GRIMM IS!?”

“THE FAUNUS!” All the members yell in unison, determined by their answer.

“AND YOU KNOW HOW ARE WE GOING TO BE FREE OF THE GRIMM!?”

“BY KILLING EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!” The Purifiers replied to their leader, much to the prisoners’ fear. Things didn’t look for Velvet and Kingston as how they were on their territory, with the chance to die at any moment.

“That’s right! All our problems in regard to the Grimm are the Faunus’ fault! This is why we are here reunited, to bring our _Savior_ here, to bring down Grimm, Faunus and all sources of negative emotions. He will come and finally take our future back!” The Purifiers were applauding him.

“Bring our Savior, kill all Faunus!” The members were repeating it back and forth, full of joy as they finally were going to live again.

“But that is not all, recent decades people started to get accustomed to the Faunus’ presence, thinking it is progress when was the contrary! Vacuo is a good example of letting both humans and Faunus live together, struggling for their survival and the reason it never rains after the Great War. And that’s not all; the very same idea of living together in harmony is what leaded Vale to its fall, getting their own destruction on the hands of the Grimm months ago. Now, do you understand it? The kingdoms that suffered the most are the ones letting those abominations of nature were living with. Atlas and Mistral are still not ready to fall due to their strict rules against the Faunus.”

“Down with those Faunus Sympathizers!”

“That being said, tonight we have a very special guest for the sacrifice…” Master Copper paused to point at Kingston with lights, surrounding him with glares and disgust from the other members. “He is the example of what happened when you want to defend those freaks; this guy betrayed his own kind and now he is here, engaged just like the rest of them. Let this guy lead the example of what happens when you support them.” He ordered one of the Purifiers guards to bring Kingston to the platform, walking slowly with the handcuffs and a collar on his neck. The audience jeered at him as he was walking down the stairs. Kingston got the same feeling as his leader Jack got back in Atlas Academy, maybe even worse.

Meanwhile, one of the Purifiers moved among the crowd without bothering anyone. He was getting closer next to where the prisoners were. Velvet heard the footstep coming to her direction with a familiar pattern. She knew that person. “What do you want?” She asked the Purifier.

“Getting ready for the show…” He sneaked a key to Velvet’s hands and started to whisper her in a careful manner. “When things start to get agitated, use this thing and lead all the prisoners to there.” He pointed to a small shack next to the camp’s walls. “Try to keep them there until I’m done with K, alright?” Velvet nodded at the Purifier’s instructions while he kept walking towards the platform. She quickly got into position to use the keys to free herself and the rest of the prisoners.

Once Kingston was next to their leader, he got beat by the Axe-wielding member to be on his knees. With his hand tied and unable to escape, he was approached by the leader with a mocking smile. “Tell me something before you become the first blood of our _Savior_ , how does it feel to be executed like an animal? I bet someone like you never was treated like Faunus with so much hatred.”

“Not really, I already know people who got the worst. Seeing you makes the White Fang look like saints, you are just a bunch of phonies.” Kingston smiled as well, pretty confident for someone in a position like that.

“Hmph, it doesn’t matter now that you shall be sacrificed for the greatest good for Remnant and its future. Now, brother if you please…” Master Copper gave a hand signal to the black-robe member, who moved next to Kingston while aiming his ax at his neck. The audience was getting more excited while Velvet and the rest of the Faunus prisoners were metaphorically on the edge of their seats, anticipating of what is going to happen to the sniper. “Any last words…?” The cult leader asked Kingston.

“Just one, do you like hot or cold?”

“What!?” Down from the platform, someone shot two different elemental projectiles. The fire projectile landed on the leader while the executioner got frozen by the ice projectile, leaving him like an ice sculpture while Kingston got his head down while using the key from his pocket to free himself. The members were in a panic as seeing one of them betraying and jumping into the air to escape from the crowd. From Velvet’s side, she was done giving the key to the prisoners so they could fight back the Purifiers with their guard down, none of them got their weapons so it was easy to take them down despite the difference in numbers.

“Traitor! Why would you do that to your brothers and sisters!?” The leader spoke to the one on the top of the platform, only to take off the robes by throwing it to the fire. Much to his amaze, that person wasn’t one of his members.

“Yeah, you weren’t expecting a Faunus Sympathizer to crash your little party, huh?” Ace was aiming at him while doing a devilish grin, doing his greatest entrance. “Are you alright?” He asked his partner, which he replied with an affirmative nod.

“Fool, you think you have the advantage? It’s just you two against us!” Master Copper exclaimed in an angry tone.

“I don’t think so; you must check your boys more often before you start losing stuff.”

“Huh?”

On the courtyard, the White Fang prisoners were fighting some of the Purifiers, while some of them were able to grab the crossbows and other weapons, they couldn’t defend themselves by much because there were a lot of cult members. One of the Purifiers shot an arrow to Ace, but he dodged in time while returning fire to him. The leader took advantage of the situation by jumping off the platform and running away for his safety.

“He is getting away!” Kingston yelled while pointing at the leader of the cult.

“Don’t worry about it; we will deal with him later…” Ace handed over Kingston’s weapon. “…For now, how about we bring some noise towards us?” The infiltrator smirked.

“Sure thing, partner…” The sniper got his weapon in spear mode, with the drill spinning at full speed. Both travelers started to fight against the cult with all their strength.

* * *

 On Velvet’s side, she defends herself while guiding to the appointed place where Ace told her to bring the prisoners somewhere safe and wait for any of instructions. She didn’t have her weapons so the only thing to fight was doing kicks and avoiding the cult members while trying to help everyone. The White Fang didn’t have much of an issue to fight without weapons but still, they were surrounded. Velvet did her best to keep an eye on all prisoners and not leaving a single one of them behind.

“Where are you taking us?” One prisoner asked Velvet while avoiding conflict.

“Everyone, to the shack!” Velvet replied.

“For what!?”

“I’m not sure yet!” Velvet kept moving and helping to the rest of the prisoners to that place. Once inside of the shack, she started to do a recount if nobody was left outside. So far, 24 White Fang members got there in time, partially unharmed. Velvet tried to calm everyone down as they were trying to hide from the Purifiers while Ace and Kingston were distracting them by fighting the crowd. She was looking through the window to see if any more of them followed the Faunus, but the Purifiers’ attention wasn’t much of a problem anymore.

“Why the hell are we doing here?” One prisoner asked Velvet in a state of confusion

“I don’t know.” Velvet replied.

“Y-You don’t know? Then why are we doing here?” Another prisoner asked the bunny Faunus

“They told me to come here and keep you safe.”

“Who? The humans told you that? Do you think we can trust another human after what happened to us? Are you stupid?”

“Don’t call me stupid, and those humans just freed you from those crazy people! Do you think you are in a position to critic them after what they been doing for us!?” Velvet got tired of hearing hypocritical comments from both White Fang and Purifiers. She started to hear someone knocking on the door, slamming in a rushed manner that probably more cult members tried to get inside. “Who is there!?” She yelled to the person from outside.

“Special delivery!” It was Ace being playful as ever, Velvet opened the door to him and Kingston to get inside the shack. The Faunus prisoners weren’t so happy to see them. “Sorry if we got carried away for a while, there were some complications.”

“What kind of complication?” As soon Velvet asked, the Purifiers were screaming in terror from outside. Everyone looked confused about why they would behave like that if there weren’t dealing with either Ace or Kingston. It was something else attacking them.

“Get away from me, you monsters!” They heard Purifiers telling to Grimm attacking them from outside, they came out of nowhere as hordes were dealing with the cult. One could say it was poetic justice after hearing screaming in terror, with a sensation of vulnerability from them getting invaded on their own home.

“Grimm? Why there are some inside the camp!?” Velvet was lost of how the monster appeared in a matter of few minutes.

“Oh yeah I forgot to mention something, I brought some friends along the way.” Ace sounded so casual about the fact he led Grimm towards them, with the chance of also getting in more danger than the Purifiers. He really loved to live on the extreme with his plans.

“And you think that was a good idea about bringing Grimm to this place? There is no way we can escape alive from here with all prisoners.”

“Hey, you can’t play your hand without your trump card ready.” As many aces liked to joke around, as usual, he was serious about it. He walked towards some trunks and footlockers to move them out of the way by revealing a hole, which was hiding right inside the shack. “As you can see, I needed some distraction to bring everyone outside safe. This hole leads a tunnel with a distance of 7 miles away from here on the end of the tunnel. So I would like each one of you goes here and not let get caught.”

“And why we would do that because what a human says to us?” A prisoner was skeptical of Ace’s orders.

“Hey! If you want to stay here and get capture again by those lunatics, be my guest. I’m giving you all a way out of this forsaken place. Are you going to keep questioning me or are you willing to follow my instructions and go through this hole and get your freedom?” After of what Ace was done saying his part, no one from the White Fang complained about him. They started to inside the hole with an organized line, escaping one by one from the place. They moved as fast as they could in order to not let anyone follow them. Velvet and Kingston stayed behind along with Ace to protect the shack until the last of the prisoners escaped.

“That’s all of them,” Kingston said.

“Good, because I need to leave and lend them a hand...”

“Are you not going to stay with us, Ace?”

“No, because I need to help them where to find their camp and a safe place, I’ll be back when I’m done.” Ace made an ensured smile to Velvet, saying no to worry about him. “But first I need to discuss something important things with my partner.” Ace took out an arrowhead from his pocket. “K, do you have any idea what is this?”

“It’s _Silverium_!” Kingston replied quickly.

“Exactly!”

“Excuse me but what is ‘Silverium’?” Velvet wasn’t sure of what they were talking about.

“Silverium, my dear Velvet, it’s a rare type of mineral that contains so many natural properties that not only makes stronger than steel itself but also can ignore people’s Aura.”

“That doesn’t sound good…” Velvet didn’t like how things were going.

“It isn’t, me and Ace knew about this mineral because is the same kind of what Jack’s is made of. We still don’t know how they got this thing on their hands but we must interrogate Copper about it!”

“Jack’s? Are you referring to his weapon?” Velvet asked.

“Sure, his weapon...” Ace replied bluntly. “One more thing before I leave.” Ace handed over a backpack and a case, which contained Velvet’s weapon. However, something wasn’t good for Ace. “Sorry Velvet, when I got to the armory to retrieve your weapon and K’s, someone broke it into pieces.” Velvet looked sad as how much effort she put to make something like that.

“No… how I’m going to fight without my weapon?” Ace and Kingston looked at each other, as both of them got the same idea.

“Velvet, you told me something about your Semblance before, that you can copy other people’s fighting styles, isn’t that right?” Ace asked the bunny Faunus.

“Yes, I did before you got hit by an arrow, why?” That being said, Ace pulled out one of his regular knives while Kingston grabbed his regular pistol. The travelers gave their respective weapons to Velvet. “If you can copy styles, then you can use any weapon to fight on your own.” Ace gave the thumbs up to her.

“Are you sure about it? Don’t you need them to fight as well?”

“No, Ace has pretty much a collection with him most of the time and I barely use that pistol,” Kingston replied. “We are sure you are a lot stronger than some people may think of, we are entrusting you with those so you can help me in the meantime.” Velvet nodded, as she finally was in synchronization with both travelers.

“Alright, now that we are all set you two should go to Copper’s house in that camp and find him. If you can find any useful archives or evidence about the culprits, that would be nice too. I’ll be back soon and be careful.” Ace jumped to the hole and proceeds to help the prisoners to reach a safe place, leaving only Velvet and Kingston on the shack. They headed outside and go straight to find Copper while fighting and ignoring some Grimm on the way.

On the camp, the house was the only one that looked nice enough when you compared it to the shacks or another kind of structures. Copper lived like a king while the other members were in poverty and happy with their blind faith. It felt personal for Velvet and Kingston to assault him for how he acted on the camp’s prison. Some of the Purifiers tried to get their weapons from the armory, but they couldn’t open the door as something was stuck from the other side. Incapable to fight, most if not all the alive Purifiers escaped from the camp, while others did not survive the Grimm attack. It was the greatest opportunity for them to confront Copper without interference from his subordinates.

They were standing in front of the two-story house. Trying to open the door, Kingston used the drill from his spear to pierce the doorknob and being able to get inside. The house was dark without any illumination that only Velvet was able to see in the darkness while aiming with the regular pistol on her right hand. They walked slowly while inspecting the first floor, with the living room and kitchen in an ordered manner. There were some devices and machines that only someone from a city could own. Expected from a former scientist, he couldn’t live in a place like Forever Fall without modern technology to make his life a luxury.

The second door was something that caught Velvet and Kingston’s interest, as there were a lot of paperwork and maps. Velvet saw a map from Forever Fall with scratches and circles about some settlements from the area. Samsara was marked as prohibited because they could be allowed to get there. The second mark of interest was something Velvet knew all along. It was Tint Hills.

“Hey, look at this!” Velvet called Kingston to see the map, as she was pointing out with small footnotes about search and destroy. “So it was them, the one behind the attacks from Tint Hills.”

“What makes you think it was really them?” Kingston asked.

“Because Tint Hills is a place where they got a lot of Faunus and people living together, no doubt my team couldn’t get any clues since the attacks were undetected. People assumed bandits but they liked to make destruction, those were more subtle. And I finally discovered why there weren’t any White Fang reports on Forever Fall, all of them were captured by this cult.” Velvet got an epiphany.

“That solves one problem then…”

“In a way, I kind of knew it was them but I wasn’t sure until I finally saw the concrete evidence.”

“And you finally made your homework, Faunus.” A voice from the room spoke with a voice filter. “It was necessary to make sure there were no more of them to endanger us.” He was sitting on the bottom of the room while being surrounded by darkness. Velvet could see him but something felt odd with his appearance as he looked bulkier than usual.

“Give it up, Copper. You don’t have any other place to run.” Kingston aimed at him with his sniper rifle.

“No, but I don’t need to. I have everything I always wanted. Power, followers, immunity; I became someone who is untouchable for society. People now do what I say, and you want to know why? I’m the one with the authority before the end of the Remnant. I am the prophet and my job is to clean and purify those lands so our Savior can help us to finally have a new future, a new genesis for all of us.”

“For what? Killing humans and Faunus alike, taking us as slaves and animals in a zoo? This is your idea of salvation? Why you hate Faunus so much to want us dead?”

“Hate? Nonononononono… I don’t hate Faunus, in fact, is the contrary.”

“What!?” Both Velvet and Kingston exclaimed in shock.

“You see, I’m giving all a reason, a cause to fight. They need something to keep them alive while living in this place in ruins. Without it, they are just waiting until the end of the days finally comes. As a prophet, my job is to give them hope until we finally get our new future. That is what I’m fighting for!”

“No, you are an impostor and tyrant. I knew people like you in Atlas and Mistral, be glad that one of my teammates is not here with us to hear all those fallacies and punch you the in the face.” Kingston counter-argued while thinking certain brute from his own team.

“Fallacies, you called me a liar? After from what I’m doing to save Remnant and waiting for our Savior you called me a liar? If it is what you think about me, then I’ll have to execute you two by myself.” His voice became deeper and distorted.

“Good luck with that, because we are going to stop you right here, right now.” Velvet was aiming with the pistol while taking a defensive stance with the knife on her left hand.

“You won’t…” A noise started to sound coming from him, it was bad news for them. A light was shot from Copper’s left hand that sent both Velvet and Kingston flying out of the house from the windows of the second floor. The leader wasn’t so unarmed after all. Velvet landed on her feet due to her agility while Kingston was on the ground on his knees while holding his weapon as support. They heard clanks coming from the house like a robot walking with the only mission to stalk and kill. Copper came through the front door of the house, with the camp’s bonfire to illuminate him from all angles.

He was holding a strange gun on his left hand while wielding a large sword on his right hand. His bloody red robes covered him completely as he stopped looking like a human for our heroes. Much to Velvet’s fears, he was the very image of a fairy-tale monster on the hunt, something that started to worry Kingston as that kind of technology and weapons made of Silverium would make Copper a dangerous opponent to defeat.

“Velvet, whatever you do, try to not kill him as we still need to interrogate about everything,” Kingston warned Velvet while she was behind his back. He was protecting the Faunus with his own life despite that wasn’t the way he works as he always protects everyone’s backs.

“Don’t worry; I’ll make sure he doesn’t suffer…too much.” Velvet was also getting ready to fight the cult leader.

“Oh, I will pray for your souls, hoping you will finally find peace in the afterlife.” Copper charged towards them with his sword, trying to slice them vertically together. Both dodged the attack by separating and going by opposite directions. Kingston fought first by engaging in close combat with his spear, doing swings but Copper blocked them with his sword. Velvet tried to shoot the leader by the limbs to immobilize but none of the bullets affected him, only making holes on his robe. What kind of armor was he wearing under the robes?

Kingston noted what Velvet tried, so he wasn’t afraid to use the drill to strike Copper directly with it. He moved out of the way with Velvet leaping to the cult leader, taking Kingston’s place to fight him directly while he transformed his weapon into a sniper rifle to attack from a safe distance. He used his Semblance to aim at Copper’s head and shot him in a non-lethal way. He was in position while taking a deep breath, fire his weapon on the marked spot.

He failed the shot. The bullet bounced and landed somewhere else. Copper was bulletproof and unstoppable since they finally noticed he was using full armor, using the robe to cover his weak-points and blind-spots. “It is not used; we can’t get him as long he is using those robes.” Velvet commented while getting tired of fighting him.

“Then let's make him take it off,” Kingston said while rushing towards him with his spear, making him step back while Copper was defending himself. Velvet knew what kind of plan the sniper got, so she rushed as well by shooting and slashing by jumping around. Despite they weren’t doing any damage to Copper, he kept stepping back towards the bonfire. Copper didn’t notice until it was already too late, as Velvet jumped and doing a double kick that launched to the cult leader to the center of the courtyard. He started to get angry by how they tried to do.

“Enough! If this is how you want to play then I will send all of you to hell!” He took the burning robes off him, revealing he was wearing a knight armor made of Silverium as it was reacting by glowing red with flames around.

**Grand Prophet and Leader of the Purifiers:**

**Master Copper **

 


	7. A New Road Opens Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy now things started to wrap up, as the conclusion is nigh.  
> Disclaimer: RWBY Characters, places and terminologies with the exception of the Original Characters, belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions.

“Keep your distance away from him; I will fight while you look for a way to destroy his armor,” Kingston told to Velvet while he kept shooting with his sniper rifle at Copper.

“Understood!” Velvet jumped and dodged their opponent’s attacks. He was using energy cannon on his gun in his left hand. They were trying to attack him by surrounding him in the center, but his defenses were impenetrable that felt useless no matter what kind of attack they threw at him. Copper used his sword from his right hand to do huge swings at them I anyone tried to get closer to him. His armor still was glowing red by the effects of _Silverium_ making contact with fire, making him temporally untouchable.

Kingston was trying to analyze him from all angles while still avoiding the energy projectiles. Copper was pretty dangerous as he couldn’t stop fighting, it was like one of the tanks from Atlas. Velvet leaped to the cult leader by trying to strike some little gaps between the armor plates. She jumped and took the high ground by standing on the platform while shooting with the pistol. The bullets kept bouncing off due to the armor’s strong resistance against anything. Copper returned fire to Velvet but she was fast enough to avoid them, he rushed towards the platform and started to destroy the supports to tear down and make the bunny Faunus falls.

“Come here, you pest!” Copper tried to slice Velvet in the air, but Kingston shot to the cult leader’s hand to make him drop the sword. Velvet reacted quickly and kicked him on the head to disorient him. She used the knife to cut the belts that were holding on the leg armor. Those fell while revealing he was using some sort of chainmail of the same material.

Copper’s movement was pretty slow due to the armor. Leg movement got pretty faster as he lost some armor from the lower part of the body, still not vulnerable enough. He kept shooting and slashing with both weapons. Velvet and Kingston were struggling to take Copper down. “Tag!” Kingston extended his hand to switch places with the bunny Faunus to fight the cult leader at close range. She grabbed his hand and launched Kingston to the air while aiming his spear towards Copper, performing the “Dragoon Jump” technique. Using gravity as his only way to gain enough momentum to pierce the armor with the drill, the sniper was doing a pretty strong grip and got enough height to fall at full speed, enough power for a single impact. Unfortunately, Copper blocked the attack by crossing both sword and gun, doing a counter that used the knee to hit Kingston on the stomach.

“GAAAH!” He suffered a lot of damage as he was wide open and not even able to cover himself from the attack. As Copper grabbed him from the back and tried to launch him to the fire, sending him flying. Velvet reacted and jumped to catch him in the air while landing on the safe ground. Copper aimed at them, easy targets to use the energy cannon. He unleashed a full blast at them, but Velvet took one of Kingston’s metal plates from his backpack to block the attack, barely surviving it.

They got on their feet faster and ran in opposite directions. The sniper rushed to the cult leader and attacking with his spear, he pierced the ground to use his weapon as a pole fixed to the ground. That way he could dodge the attacks easier while disorienting him while Velvet saw the chance to attack from the back. She jumped towards him, and she got on top of the opponent while trying to cut some belts that were attaching the helmet. Copper tried to take her off him, as he grabbed her leg and smashed Velvet against the ground. He tried to do a down thrust but the Faunus rolled sideways and kicked to his face.

The sniper swung his spear to hit Copper’s nape, finally dealing some damage to him but he would start to become more cautious around him. He was getting exhausted from the fight, as he couldn’t hold both of them by himself. “Don’t think I’m done yet, rascals.” He holstered his sword to favor the gun as he did want either of them to get close to him. He started to shoot at them as he was furious and not caring to aim properly. Velvet and Kingston had to take cover around the camp and hiding.

“This is bad; he won’t let us get near as long he keeps using that gun.” The sniper commented while peaking.

“What are we going to do? If that weapon is made of Silverium, we can’t destroy it that easily. “Isn’t another way force him to ditch it?” Velvet asked Kingston in a rather loud tone. He had to put some thought as tried to analyze the weapon by looking at it. So far he could tell was the strange light that was peeping between shots. Copper pulled a lever every time he stopped firing it. The sniper noticed it as some sort of cooldown mechanism. “I may have a plan, but it would require to keep him fire it,” Kingston explained while feeling unsure about the plan.

“Alright, I will distract him while you try to not let him pull the lever.” Velvet left the cover and start rushing towards Copper, as he smirked by shooting at the Faunus. She tried to run in circles to make some time and make him unsuspicious of Kingston’s plan. The cult leader kept shooting at Velvet from random direction until the light started beeping. Copper stopped in order to pull the lever, but Kingston shot the lever by breaking it, unable to cool down the weapon.

The gun was getting overcharged by the stuck energy, forcing Copper to throw it at the sniper. When the gun was doing high-pitched noises, it exploded with a pretty large blast radius. Kingston got away from it and stood next to Velvet while looking at the cult leader, upset about how things went.

“Grrrr… There’s no forgiveness for you on the new future…” Copper took out his sword by holding with both hands. “…The Savior won’t have mercy on you.” He was on guard, ready to fight them with all his strength.

“You can keep your forgiveness because we won’t have mercy on you either.” Velvet was pretty angry with him, something that Kingston didn’t expect to see another side of her.

“I suggest you surrender, or we will make sure you don’t go out of this alive.” Everyone rushed towards each other. Copper did a long horizontal swing that Velvet jumped above of him while Kingston did a dodge roll under him. The Faunus parried the attacks as to how hard to defend with a big sword. She was able to avoid those slow and predictable blows as the sniper attacked the arms. The armor from the arms started to fall off from the cult leader, only leaving the chest as the last piece of armor. With no more weight to slow him down; his sword got separated into two pieces. He was dual-wielding as he was much faster to attack and defend himself from his enemies.

For an old man, he was pretty agile to give problems in the fight. He slashed from left to right while parrying Kingston’s spear attacks and Velvet’s shots. The sniper switched Predator’s Eye mode back and forth as he was trying to fight Copper with all his skills. Due to the speed of the cult leader, Kingston used his Semblance to avoid the slashed with more frequency, but it started to tire his eyes. Copper had the advantage as he caught Kingston’s guard down by doing some cuts to his hands, making him drop his weapon.

“Crap…!” He kneeled in pain as he was unable to fight. Copper took the opportunity to stab him but he was interrupted by Velvet who stood in front of Kingston. She blocked the swords attack with a knife while using the pistol to shoot the cult leader on the chest. Despite not doing damage, she made him step back and have enough space to get Kingston somewhere safe. “Don’t do this, you can’t do it alone.” He told the Faunus out of concern.

“You don’t have to worry about me…” She gave the pistol back to Kingston while she grabbed Predator’s Eye. “…I will finish that hypocrite off and help you to get your answers.” She was determined to stop Copper by herself, no longer afraid. Velvet was facing him, with fire on her eyes as to how much her race had to suffer from that kind of people on her life. No more people to fight for her, she was ready to finally deal with discrimination of Faunus with her own power.

“So you want to face me alone? You have no idea, bunny.” Copper was really eager to make her suffer.

“I’m tired of let other people speak for me, it is my turn now to fight for others.” She took a stance with the spear pointing at him. “Don’t underestimate me.” Copper charged towards while she stayed on the same place, waiting for him to do the first strike. She blocked the attacks as he kept doing fast swings his swords, but she learned Copper’s pattern. It was easy to predict his movements as she was looking for another way to destroy the chest armor.

Copper was spinning while extending his swords, an orthodox method but good to not get blind-spotted by the Faunus. She did a slide while changing the weapon to sniper rifle by shooting at his hands, making him drop them. She mounted on his shoulders, using the knife to cut the last couple of belts from the chest piece. He was completely vulnerable, unarmed and unprotected. It wasn’t enough for Velvet. She threw Kingston’s weapon back to him, as she started to land punches and kicks to the cult leader.

He was losing consciousness and getting a lot of bruises on his face. Copper tried to fight back with punches but Velvet dodged like it was nothing, she jumped and stomped his head until it hit the ground. That was brutal for Copper to fight Velvet, as he kept receiving damage from her.

“You... can’t escape... destiny…” The cult leader was on his knees, coughing uncontrollably while looking at the Faunus on the eyes.

“It is not you who can dictates who lives or not.” Velvet did a roundhouse kick that sent Copper to the front gate of the camp. Out of fear, he started crawling and opening the gate to escape, but he wasn’t expecting another surprise.

“Eeeeh, what’s up, Doc? Going somewhere?” Ace was on his way, pushing him back inside the camp. Velvet, Kingston, and Ace were cornering him towards the bonfire. Ace aimed at Copper with ‘Friend’s Luck’ in Fire mode. He wouldn’t hesitate to burn him if he doesn’t cooperate with the group. “Nowhere to hide or someone to help you: Better speak before I make you a human torch.”

“What exactly you want from me…?” Copper was getting out of breath.

“About the people you worked for…” Ace was getting his knife close to the cult leader. “You were working for Merlot Industries; tell us anything you know about them.”

“Why you care about them?”

“The ‘why’ do not concern you. Tell us who those guys are!”

“They are gone…”

“What!?” The travelers replied out of annoyance.

“Merlot Industries were destroyed on Mountain Glenn years ago *Snicker* Damn fools, you are chasing a ghost from a long lost past. If you thought Atlas Division Group was still around, not anymore. Whoever is in charge now, you are just going in circles as it is impossible to find the remaining scientists, as all of them are dead. You would be lucky if you find any alive after so many years.” Copper was mocking the group.

“So what? You may still know something about them, for example: How did you get this Silverium on your hands!?”

“Simple, it was a gift from our _Savior._ ” The group was frowning in disbelief.

“Tch, again with that…? You are really a delusional person, you know that?” Kingston commented, much to his disappointment.

“I was a non-believer like you; you may think I got all that before leaving Merlot Industries, but no. I saw the Savior who gave me that power and I’m using it until he returns for _The End_. You may think he is not real, but he really is: He has eyes full with fire and vengeance, a body which no mortal is allowed to touch him, and a power to destroy Grimm in a matter of seconds without flinching. He is _The Savior of Remnant_!” He was a lost cause,  no longer a sane man.

Ace and Kingston were looking at each other, upset that he won’t able to tell anything useful as he thinks his ‘savior’ will help him. Unbelievable that such a hideous person could exist, and there are worse criminals in this world. There was no law to make him pay for his actions until Ace come up with an idea.

“Hey partner, can you tell me what would be the distance between the camp and that waterfall from the east?” Ace asked Kingston.

“Around…6 or 7 yards, probably. Why asking though?”

“I want to make a bet with you.”

“No thanks, you always win every time we bet. It is not a good time anyways…”

“No no, I think it is a good time. You didn’t hear yet what kind of bet I’m proposing yet.”

“I’m all ears.” Kingston started to pay attention to Ace, interested what he had to say.

“I bet you that this crazy old man can surpass the 7 yards before the Grimm could have even the chance to catch him.” That leaves Kingston and Velvet with the eyes wide open, almost a madness to leave Copper by his own luck. Despite that, the sniper grinned with a malicious smile.

“I see… and what is the reward if any of us win?”

“I will come up with something later, but for now you don’t want to test it?” Ace could stop smiling, as he really was enjoying the moment.

“If that’s the case, I’m betting you he can’t even surpass the 6 yards.”

“Hey Velvet, don’t you want to bet as well?”

“No, I’ll just watch for now. You two can start already…” She refused with a polite tone.

“Alrighty then, now take that stuff!” Ace and Kingston grabbed Copper and took off his clothes by changing him with some rags that he kept on the shack. They attached some flares and lights around him in a way he can’t take them off. Ace dragged him and threw him outside of the gate, with still some Grimm roaming the area. Those monsters saw the cult leader and started to chase him down. The group was on the second floor of the camp’s house to see if he was running away from the Grimm. Kingston used his sniper rifle while Ace and Velvet shared the binoculars to witness how far Copper will reach the waterfall before he stops and got eaten.

“2…3 is getting tired; I think I will win this time,” Kingston commented in a joking manner.

“Hold your horses, he catching up speed.” Ace saw Copper still running. Despite the dangerous terrain, the cult leader was able to avoid the Beowulves pretty good.

Copper kept running as he jumped between rocks, with despair on his back. His fear attracted more Grimm around the area and their numbers of pursuers won’t have time for a break. The sniper stopped smiling as how Copper was getting closer to the waterfall. “5…6…and is over 7 yards already. I won the bet again.” Ace commented with a huge smile on his face, as he wanted a laugh at how the powerful leader of a cult was trying to survive on the wildness.

**Master Copper: Pathetically Running Away for His Life.**

“Well it looks like we are done with this place; take any archives or important papers from the house while I go back to the armory and take some Silverium for us. We can’t let any other person use such a dangerous mineral for any reason.” Velvet gave back Ace’s knife while he walked downstairs and leaving the house. “When you are done here, go to the closest hill outside of the camp. Wait for me there for the little surprise for you.” He yelled from outside to them.

 Kingston took some boxes with papers and tried to roll the documents to fit in his backpack. Velvet helped around as well while looking at some photos of some scientists, Copper was in the picture along with other 2 older people. One got like a robotic eye and arm while the other had a huge beard. They didn't look happy about standing next to each other.

“Did you found something?” Kingston asked as he was almost done the packing.

“Nothing, just a picture.” Velvet showed it to the sniper, as he was looking closely about every single person that appeared. Besides Copper, those two scientists on the center of it looked important for some reason.

“I will keep it if you don’t mind.” Kingston grabbed the picture and saved it in his pocket. They were done with the house and leave the camp to go to the appointed place to wait for Ace. They got too much stuff within them and leave the camp. There weren’t any Purifiers around and the Grimm kept focusing on Copper from the distance. The woods felt safe for the moment, as they climbed the hill and waited for Ace to come and give the surprise he promised them.

“So what are we going to do now?” Velvet asked the sniper.

“Well first, we are going to take you back to Samsara. Then maybe go and continue with our trip to help Jack.” Kingston said as he was contemplating the shattered moon in the sky.

“So it is over huh? When I checked the map, I noticed that we are not far from Samsara. I think we will arrive there for the morning.” Velvet commented while paying attention to the woods. “I guess I will try to find a place to contact my team and maybe hoping to come and get your supplies for your trip.” Velvet started to see something climbing the hill, it was Ace.

“Sorry for taking too long, but I was making sure no Silverium was left on the camp, and doing the last touches for the surprise. Hope you get ready to be amazing.” Ace gave what appeared a detonator for some explosives. “Do you want to make the honors, Velvet?” He handed over the detonator to the bunny Faunus. She grabbed it and started to count three with her fingers. Kingston started to cover his eyes as it may blind him while Ace covered his mouth to hold his laugh for the moment. Velvet did the same thing by covering her bunny ears as the explosion might be too loud for her. She pressed the button.

*KABOOM*

The camp got engulfed in flames as a fireworks factory exploded. The view was one hell of a show as Forever Fall, and maybe Remnant will be free from the Purifiers for a long time. “Huh, the explosion was bigger than expected.” Ace started to make a little victory dance, much to Velvet’s confusion.

“Ace… what do you mean by ‘bigger than expected’?” Kingston raised an eyebrow.

“I had to improvise, as I was trying to recall how to make explosives.”

“Making explosives? I thought Quinn refused to teach you how to make them or even get near them.”

“He did, but I had to learn it by reading his book of _The Anarchist Cookbook_ when we were at Atlas Academy.” Kingston was unamused about hearing it.

“ _The Anarchist Cookbook…_? I thought that was banned on several kingdoms and cities around Remnant.” Velvet commented about it.

“Wait a minute, ‘his book’…? Quinn doesn’t like to share his belongings to anyone.”

“He doesn’t…I took it without his permission as I thought it was a regular cookbook. You would be surprised what kind of explosives you can learn from it.” Ace said it as how appropriate was for his laidback attitude.

“Well, I can say it _blows your mind_ , huh?” Kingston’s joke made Ace facepalm of how bad it was, Velvet didn’t mind on the very at least as she chuckled. “What? You always make jokes all the time…was it a bad time?”

“No it wasn’t a bad time, but I just don’t like puns, alright?” Ace took out a map while pinpointing the direction they must take. “*Sigh* Anyways, we must go to Samsara before breakfast.”

“Sure thing, lead the way,” Kingston commented as he and Velvet followed Ace to the road, as they shouldn’t have any more obstacles to reach the main city of the area. They kept walking while doing small talks to light the mood and getting their friendship closer. They started to see the lights as the night of autumn was almost over.

* * *

 The sun finally came out after a rough night, and the group was walking on the civilized streets surrounded by sunlight. Shops and restaurants were opening for business hours. They started to feel hunger as they noticed they didn’t eat anything for a whole day. Ace and Kingston looked worried as they didn’t have enough Lien to pay a meal. Velvet offered to pay the breakfast as it was all she could do for them at the moment. Kingston tried to be modest and refuse the offer but she insisted, both travelers sat and ordered something good and simple.

“Alright, while we wait for the food, I will go and make contact my team. Excuse me for the moment…” Velvet left the table and went to find some public Scroll, leaving only Ace and his partner to talk among themselves.

“Okay, so…what are we going to say to my bro Jack? We couldn’t get good answers as those archives and Silverium may not be good enough evidence to fight those guys.” Ace got a worried expression as they failed to accomplish their mission.

“Not so sure, I’m reading some of those documents and most of them don’t seem useful. Most names got crossed out or else.” Kingston commented while taking out paper from his backpack.

“I mean, at least we got Silverium and destroyed the rest of it, but I hate to go and see my bro with the empty hands.”

“I know how you feel it, but we did the must could get from this place. The only thing we can hope for the moment is to go to Mistral and reunite with him, Lucy and Quinn and talk about our next move. We might get some luck if Quinn is able to get clues at Atlas because we are wanted for being an accomplice to that incident.” Kingston grabbed his glasses and started to clean them, much to show his frustration. “*Sigh* I can’t believe that brute went back there, fully knowing that he may get arrested and ruin this mission.”

“You don’t have to call it a mission, partner. We are no longer soldiers and yeah it may not look like the smartest move on Quinn’s part, but we know him very well. He might be crazy but not stupid.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look from this angle, he maybe got a good reason to come back but we are sure that won’t be easy for him. Also good thing Jack is only wanted in Atlas and Vale, Mistral should be good for now to hide until we get everything to find the culprits.”

“I just hope he doesn’t make things worse for us.”

“And you criticize me for calling crazy to my awesome plans.”

“Let’s be honest, your plans sometimes go beyond expectations.” Both travelers laughed about their talk while taking their drinks. After exploring the Forever Fall for a week really helped them to understand better at each other. It was a rare occurrence to finally relax and enjoy a nice meal and talk while goofing around. The food went to the table and Velvet was still busy calling, they must be worried sick about her. They kept talking until Ace started thinking of what happened back at the Purifier’s camp.

“Hey, it may not be important, but do you have any idea of what Copper was referring to that ‘Savior’ of his?” Ace was had a lot of questions wondering around his head.

“To be honest, I couldn’t tell you. It is weird for a scientist to be converted or something.”

“But he said the Silverium was a gift from him. I think it will be a major problem for us if we don’t find who it was.”

“I guess that is another question to look for, it will be hard to investigate until we go to talk about it with our leader.” Both travelers took another sip as how upset they were. The only answers they got from Copper’s mouth were nothing but preaching a blind faith.

“That aside, what are we going to do with Velvet? We have to take her back to her team and get our supplies. I feel sad as we know we have to part our ways from her.”

“That is something we must. We can’t let more people get involved in this. I think is for their safety to let them go and doing their job as Huntsmen.” Kingston acted as it was more professionalism between him and Velvet.

“I suppose, I don’t her to go with us either. Still, I wished we could get more time to talk in peace with Grimm, or a crazy cult going after us without a single break.” Ace commented as he knew there was going to be a goodbye after eating their breakfast. Kingston looked at his partner pretty sad, not knowing what could light his mood again. Velvet came back and sat as she finally smelled the food. She looked at the travelers with long faces.

“Is there something wrong, guys?” Velvet asked them.

“Nothing, just starving… So how was your call? Did they answer?” Ace replied.

“Yeah they are fine; you wouldn’t imagine how the reaction of my leader Coco after receiving my call was.” Velvet said it humorously, as she felt the relief of how good was to hear them again.

“That is good to hear. I suppose we will wait here until they come to Samsara and reunite.”

“Actually, I wanted to ask for one last favor.”

“What kind of favor?” Ace’s eyes got filled with curiosity.

“Well…” She looked at her knees with embarrassment. “I wouldn’t mind if you can accompany me to Tint Hills since they are pretty busy to even come here.” The travelers looked at each other with surprise.

“We will gladly take you there.” Surprisingly, it wasn’t Ace who said that but Kingston as he was agreed to help Velvet.

“Seriously? It will take 30 minutes by train and one hour by walking to there.”

“Are you sure about it, partner?” Ace was shocked to hear the sniper act that way.

“Yeah, to be honest, I never traveled on the train before, so I wouldn’t mind to accompany her for a bit longer,” Kingston said it as Ace was thinking that almost out of character for him.

“Thank you so much! I will pay for the tickets too, I promise.” Velvet was happy while Ace raised an eyebrow. “Now, let's dig in!” They started to eat their breakfast. It was a pleasant morning as they kept talking funny stories about their respective teams and their misadventures. One of those was Ace trying to sneak around and smuggled some of their favorite drinks from the kitchen to their rooms in the middle of the night. The funny part was he got stuck on the air vents all night as something blocked the exit. Velvet burst into the laugh of how ridiculous was the story.

After done eating, they went to the station to buy tickets and ride the train to travel to Tint Hills. The interior looked nice but it was mostly deserted as not many people take the train to that route. Ace was looking at the windows and admiring the views of Forever Fall while Kingston and Velvet were asleep since they didn’t get enough rest from the previous day. The infiltrator smiled at them, of how peaceful those two were. _‘It must be tough to be a Faunus in this world.’_ Ace was thinking while reflecting on their deceased friend Argent, just by looking at them.

He took out his green bandana from his backpack and wore it on his head, as he almost forgot that he carried it since the beginning. _‘Man, I thought I lost this thing for so long.’_ He felt at home as the bandana was a gift from Jack when they began to attend Atlas Academy in their first year. Ace wished things were like used to be, before start living as fugitives and trying to save the person who calls him as his brother from another mother.

The ride on the train was reaching its destination, Ace started to wake them up as they were getting closer to their stop. They took their backpacks and left the train as they began to walk the road towards Tint Hills. The walk was peaceful as well, as there was no Grimm on the way to bother the group until the end of the road. They weren’t much to talk between them since they already were out of topics. _‘I wonder how they will feel when they see me again.’_ After so many obstacles and hardships to get Velvet back, they finally reached Tint Hills safe and sound.

“VELVET!” A lady with a beret and shades run towards the bunny Faunus, with joy on her face along with other two men following her. They hugged Velvet, with tears in their eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter is the last one, but not the last time we will know about those two guys. Leave a comment, as opinions are always welcome.


	8. No Road for the Righteous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than the others, as I feel this should be more for a video game than simple fic. Then again is something I have to work for to accomplish my dream to develop my games.  
> Disclaimer: RWBY Characters, places and terminologies with the exception of the Original Characters, belongs to Rooster Teeth Productions.

“I’m so glad you’re safe!” The lady with shades was hugging Velvet really tight.

“Me too…Coco please…could you release…please?” The Faunus was getting out of breath.

“Come on Coco that is enough.” The big guy tried to separate between her those two girls.

“No…I won’t let her go ever again.” Coco replied.

“*Sigh* I know we all missed Velvet too, but you are suffocating her, Coco.” The darkened skinned member tried to reason with his leader, as she started to notice how her partner.

“Oh my, sorry for that…” Coco finally released the Faunus, as she took deep breaths. She started to notice Ace and Kingston, as they were standing there looking with smiles that little warm reunion. “So who are those handsome men escorting you?”

Ace walked towards Coco and tried to kiss her hand. “Greetings my lady, my name is…Ugh!” He got interrupted as the charismatic leader hit him in the stomach with her purse.

“Personal space, would you? I was asking Velvet.”

“Sorry, the one with glasses is Kingston Diamo and the one with dark skin and green bandana is his partner, Ace Clover. They are the ones who helped me to get back here.” Velvet was done introducing them.

“Did they do any indecent things to you, Velvy?” Coco asked with a joking tone.

“Coco, stop…No they didn’t.”

“Oh…” The leader hit Ace on the head with her purse again.

“Owww! What was that for!?” The infiltrator was holding his head while crouching in pain.

“You got the chance and missed it.”

“You…wait what? You hit me…because I missed a chance with Velvet?” Ace looked rather surprised for Coco’s reason.

“Yeah…” The leader said it bluntly.

“…” Ace got silent for a moment to analyze the moment. “Alright, I see the logic of it.”

“Anyways, sorry to bother your talk, aren’t you going to present your team, Velvet?” Kingston spoke as he saw the other teammates.

“Oh yeah, she is my partner, Coco Andel, she is the leader of team CFVY. Those guys are like my brothers for me, Yatsuhashi Daichi and Fox Alistar.” The guys waved the hands to them.

“So Velvet, do you mind to explain me with full detail about the people behind the attacks?” Coco asked to them, as she recalled the conversation she had with Velvet on her Scroll back in Samsara. Velvet agreed and between she and Kingston started to tell the whole story about the Purifiers and the White Fang. Ace wanted to tell his share but the others interrupted him as he tends to exaggerate with the stories. Team CFVY got horrified expression for hearing the things the Purifiers intended to do with the prisoners and what kind of treatment they got. Even if the prisoners were from the White Fang, it was still horrible things to someone.

They went to a small house from Tint Hills to continue the talk. They were living there temporally to protect the settlement until they were done. The place felt cozy according to Kingston as he was used to that kind of living. They kept talking while omitting the important problems in regards Jack and everything else.

“That is crazy…” Yatsuhashi commented about the problems with the Purifiers.

“It is, as we never thought that there would be humans to go on that kind of extremes,” Fox commented too.

“It is no longer a problem since we dealt with their leader. I’m sure there won’t be any more attacks.” Velvet explained as she felt safe inside the house.

“What makes you sure they won’t come back and seek revenge? You said there were a lot of members from that cult.” Coco pointed out as things might not be good enough relax.

“She might have a point, we let a lot of them escape and not sure if they survived or not.” Kingston also wasn’t sure if it was over.

“Oh come on why you can’t just let it go and stretch the muscles? Those guys won’t ever dare to go against us ever again after how we left them homeless. I wished you were there to see the show too.” Ace was lying on the sofa while feeling comfortable.

“If you say so…” Coco was looking at those two travelers, as she could sense that they weren’t ordinary people. “…Tell what your story is, handsome?”

“Us? Not much to say as we found Velvet on the river while camping.”

“Uh-huh…” Coco was sitting while having some suspicious of them. “Are you sure you aren’t Huntsmen? You looked pretty prepared for simple wanderers.” Kingston and Ace exchange looks as they felt under pressure.

“Well…” Before Kingston could say anything, someone was knocking on the door. Fox opened the door to see who it was.

“Hey sorry to if I was interrupting something but we may have a problem on the gates.” There was a man standing with fear as he was in a hurry.

“Is Grimm bothering you again?” Coco replied to the man.

“No, there some people with some weird white robes outside of here, do you know them?” Everyone looked at each other as they picked up their weapons started to see what appeared not the end of a war. Kingston went to the roofs along with Velvet and Fox while Coco, Yatsuhashi, and Ace were standing right behind the gates while Coco went outside with her weapon ready. Things didn’t look for them as they had no idea how to deal with them. Good thing the rest of the Purifiers were to the other side of the bridge as they can get close to Tint Hills’ gates. One Purifier took a megaphone from his fellow member and started to speak through it.

_“Sinners of Tint Hills, I require your full attention as we have important things to deal with you!”_

“What kind of important stuff are you talking about?” Coco spoke from a safe distance.

_“We know two men and a bunny Faunus are hiding here, with other sinners on that place.”_

“They’ve been following us?” Velvet whispered to her allies.

“What you want with them, exactly?”

 _“We want them to pay for what they did to our home and our master!”_ Kingston was aiming to the outside of the gates, having a clear shot in case things got messy. _“Now, if you hand them over to us, we are going to leave you in peace and forgive this place for keeping Faunus live here.”_ No one from Tint Hills believed their lies. Coco was definitely not let anyone racist to hurt her partner under any circumstance.

“Yeah, I have a counter-offer for you…” The leader of team CFVY shot to the hats of the cult members with her weapon, just to scare them off. “…I say, why not take your sorry asses back to the woods and leave this person and my friends in peace!” Her team was laughing about what she did moments ago.

“Mad negotiations skills as ever, Coco…” Yatsuhashi complemented her.

“ _If it is what you think, then the talk is over!”_ The Purifier threw the megaphone to aside of the road while started to order everyone else around.

“Hmph, good luck as those guys don’t even have any weapons.” Ace commented in a mocking tone. Tempting fate, those guys were bringing some sort of catapult on the road, with rocks and another kind of projectiles to destroy the gates. “Are they serious!? A fricking catapult…? I’m getting tired of dealing with those guys.” The feeling was mutual for Velvet and Kingston as well.

The cult started to charge the weapon while some tried to cross bring some ladders to get over the gate. It was an invasion since there were a lot of them. The Huntsmen and travelers tried to repel them off, but it was difficult as some succeed to trespass the gates and fight inside.

Group A (Ace, Coco, and Yatsuhashi) fought outside of the gates while Group B (Velvet, Kingston, and Fox) defended the town as they maintained the settlers and their families safe from danger. It was rather chaotic despite they no longer had weapons made of Silverium. The Purifiers swarmed like rats as they kept sneaking through the gates, something that started to annoy team CFVY. Group B was dealing to protect the civilians, Velvet escorted some while Fox fought some of the cult members. The sniper took double turns as he had to shoot to both in and outside of the gates.

“And this how you had to deal all the time?” Yatsuhashi asked the infiltrator while fighting.

“You got lucky those guys didn’t get their arsenal with them...” Ace replied as he was casually talking while kicking cult butts. “…Although, the catapult is new to me.”

“We need to destroy that thing, the walls and gates won’t resist any longer,” Coco yelled at everyone as she focused on hitting the enemies with her purse.

“There are so many of them: how can we stop the catapult if they even can’t let us go far!?” Fox said while he grabbed one Purifier from the ground and threw against others, taking them down.

From a distance, some Purifiers started to fight in the woods. They were holding their positions as they were trying to save their lives. Our heroes noticed that something else was dealing with the cult as they were busy protecting the town. It was a surprise since they were receiving unexpected help away from Tint Hills and Purifiers stopped coming to there.

“What is going on?” Fox asked as he went outside along with Velvet and Kingston to watch from the horizon.

“I don’t know, is it the Grimm?” Yatsuhashi asked while Ace grabbed his binoculars to see what was happening. He started to laugh maniacally. “What’s so funny?”

“I guess the Calvary came…” Ace passed the binoculars to everyone else while Kingston was smiling as he looked through his sniper rifle. Team CFVY except Velvet was surprised at who was fighting the cult.

“You gotta be kidding me…” Fox commented as he saw the White Fang flag from the distance.

Two hate groups, two types of people that really hate each other started to unleash a complete battle on the woods where no one could get disturbed. As Ace saw a recognizable face leading the attack, the people of Tint Hills were impacted as how the White Fang not only was fighting but defending the town too. They started to destroy the catapult piece by piece as the Lieutenant of the White Fang used his chainsaw to tear it apart, destroying the Purifiers’ last weapon. As they fight continued, they drove them off with as the cult was getting defeated by the radical group. With fear on them, they started to run away with some White Fans soldiers chasing them.

Only a handful of them, including their Lieutenant, started to walk towards town’s bridge with their hands on the air. Everyone looked confused as to how weird it was for them to act so civilized towards humans. Ace, Kingston, and Velvet left the gates to go with them and make sure everything was good for everyone. Velvet told her team to put their weapons down, to assure them that everything was alright with the Faunus group.

Karan stopped in the middle of the bridge and took off his mask as Ace was walking towards him. They looked at each other to their eyes, filled with mutual respect. “I didn’t expect to come and help us.” Ace complemented as he was happy to see the Lieutenant.

“Helping you? Don’t get the wrong idea; the White Fang does not care about you or that town.”

“Then what was all that with those lunatics back there?” Ace was smiling with joy.

“That was a way to pay my debt with you for freeing my people on their camp. This doesn’t mean I’m already friends with you...” Karan started to look at the families of Tint Hills, with both humans and Faunus children holding their hands. “…But I must admit, when you left the storehouse I started to get funny thoughts about why I joined the White Fang in the first place.”

“And what exactly you were thinking, Karan?”

“Not much, just a dream when I was young. I don’t know if it will become a reality someday.”

“I’m sure whatever your dream is; you would need to work for it first.”

“Indeed, I will have to.” The Lieutenant turned his back and walked towards his fellow White Fang members, to go back to the woods.

“Hold on just for a moment…!” They stopped as Ace called them out. “…what are going to do now? Because they burned your camp and all…”

“First we are going to hunt every single Purifier alive in Forever Fall, and then we’ll come back to HQ and tell that this area is no longer safe for us.” Karan grabbed his mask and wore it back. “Remember this, human. One day our paths will cross someday, stay alive for then when it happens.” Ace nodded without saying a word. The Lieutenant focused his sight on the road again, never looking back as he and his group continued to chase after the remaining Purifiers.

Everyone was amazed how Ace handled the situation, talking to a White Fang as they were friends. It wasn’t a surprise for Velvet and Kingston since they already experienced that. Coco lowered her shades with shock as she never expected something like that to happen. “That was pretty cool of you handsome guy, how did you make someone like him your friend?”

“Nothing special… is just the kind of effect I do on people I meet.” Ace said casually as Team CFVY was impressed about it. They were out of words and happy that men like him and Kingston were good people since they helped Velvet and managed to protect the town.

Coco was fully convinced as those two travelers were cool, but got the feeling of seeing them somewhere else. As she remembered, Velvet promised them to give some supplies and ammo for bringing her back. The leader ordered to the male members to bring everything from the house. They offered some Lien for helping with the investigation of the attacks, initially, Kingston refused the offer but Ace insisted to keep it since they will need for the long trip.

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay a little longer with us? We could use some help around.”

“We would like to, but we have other important plans right now, at which we must travel and reunite with our friends at Mistral,” Kingston replied in a polite manner, as always.

“Really…? I’m sure Ace would like to stay.”

“Nan, I’m agreed with my partner too.  We have to go, but the next time I see you, cool lady, I would like to go somewhere fun with you and Velvet.” Ace winked one eye at Coco, she lowered her shades one more as she winked back. Everyone rolled their eyes to how ridiculous they were. “Oh, I almost forgot something…” Ace was reaching on his pockets to find something important to give Velvet back. “…I think you dropped this.” He gave her the dream-catcher back.

“Thank you so much. I guess this is a promise for us right?”

“Yes, a promise to us.” Kingston smiled at how they finally become closer. Ace felt a little jealous but not that it bothering him anyway.

Velvet started to kiss on the cheeks of those two travelers before leaving Tint Hills. “I wish you good luck, and hope to meet your team someday.” She whispered in their ears, as they nodded to the Faunus. As the gates were opening, they crossed the bridge while everyone waved their hands while saying goodbye. It was quite an adventure, but their mission wasn’t done yet.

While walking on the road back to the train station and prepare for the trip for Mistral, Ace was thinking something that was bothering back in Samsara. “Hey partner, do you remember the bet I did with you last night?”

“Yes, I do… What you have in mind exactly?” Kingston was curious about what Ace got in mind.

“I just want you to answer me one single question. What made you change of mind about go with Velvet and bring her here? Don’t tell me you got some affection towards her.” Ace smirked.

“Maybe… it was just to humor you.” Kingston smiled as he tried to not laugh.

“Yeah right, if you ever have questions about good pick up lines, don’t forget I’m always here for you.” Ace said it as they were walking towards to the west, hoping their teammates are fine.

To be continued, on _Out of the Cold Rock_ …

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, I hoped you enjoyed it because it will be a long summer to write the next part. Also I heard that Rooster Teeth are already recording for Volume 6. My stories will feel dated but I do what I love anyways.  
> I have some trivia since this is the last chapter of this story just make things interesting and some of this has Indian and Hinduism references:
> 
> -Both Ace and Kingston along with everyone in Team JAQK goes for playing card motifs as each suit has a meaning for them.  
> -The designs of Ace goes for more of a "pirate style" while Kingston goes with more "military style" as to reflect their personalities.  
> -Karkadann is a mythical rhino-like creatures in India. Karan means "clever" and "skillful" in India as well.  
> -Samsara means "wandering" or "world", as it refers with of rebirth and "cyclicality of all life, matter, existence", a fundamental assumption of all Indian religions.
> 
> Maybe I'm not the best doing research but I want to make more varied with my stories. I hoped you like it and don't forget to leave a comment if it was good or needs some corrections. Criticism is always welcome as long is a constructive one. There is a possibility to uploads more stories related to Team CVFY here so wait for more updates. Hope to be ready for the next story.


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